Carlos
Prates is confident that he will get a shot at the one after
that.
Rumors suggest that Islam
Makhachev will put his welterweight title on the line against
Ian
Garry this summer. Prates is confident that he will get a title
shot against the winner of that fight. However, it could mean a
long period of inactivity for Prates if Makhachev wins, as the
Dagestani champion doesn’t fight very often. Meanwhile, a win for
Garry should ideally lead to an immediate rematch for
Makhachev.
However, Prates doesn’t think that’s how it will play out. Prates
had a conversation with the
UFC brass, the details of which he refuses to divulge. However,
the Brazilian firmly believes he will get the shot regardless of
the winner of the fight between Makhachev and Garry.
“I don’t think they’re gonna do a rematch if Makhachev loses,”
Prates said on “The
Ariel Helwani Show.” “I talked with Dana and the UFC after my
fight. We talked [about] some things I cannot say. But I really
think I will be the next. No matter who gets the win between Islam
and Ian
Garry, I will be the next.”
The Skills to Pull Off an Upset
While Prates believes Makhachev will win, he believes Garry has the
tools to pull off an upset. “The Nightmare” also wants Garry to win
so that he can avenge his lone UFC loss against the Irishman in a
title fight.
“The favorite is Makhachev, and I think he’s gonna win,” Prates
said. “But I really think Ian has some skills to beat Islam. He can
beat Islam. He has a real chance to beat Islam. I want him to win,
and then we can do a rematch for the belt. It would be
amazing.”
Prates (24-7) has finished all seven of his UFC wins while only
dropping a hard-fought decision against Garry last year. Prates and
Garry have since become good friends. Prates most recently made a
legitimate claim for a title shot by putting on a lopside beating
of former champ Jack
Della Maddalena before finishing him in the third round at UFC
Perth earlier this month.