Carlos Prates warns Islam Makhachev about the way he likes to hurt

EXCLUSIVE: Carlos Prates sends a warning to Islam Makhachev with a “way I like to hurt” claim.

Carlos Prates has revealed during a recent sit-down with LowKick MMA how he plans to dethrone reigning UFC welterweight champion and pound-for-pound king Islam Makhachev.

The Brazilian knockout artist was training and working on his wrestling, learning some judo, and strengthening his takedown defense, hoping to challenge Makhachev at UFC 336.

However, now the plans have changed drastically.

Prates will now meet the undefeated Michael Morales in the co-main event of the aforementioned numbered event for the interim 170-pound title.

The winner of this bout by law will face Makhachev in a title unification bout later in 2027, all of this because the Russian phenom said he won’t be ready to compete in January.

The 33-year-old, meanwhile, is already looking beyond his UFC 336 bout, confident that he can knock out Morales and capture the interim title with ease.

With that in mind, the Brazilian is now setting his sights on dethroning Islam Makhachev and becoming the undisputed 170-pound UFC champion.

In a recent exclusive sitdown with LowKick MMA, with the help of Squawka, “The Nightmare” was asked: “How do you dethrone Islam Makhachev?”

Prates said: “I think it’s not different from what I normally do.”

“Just working on the takedown defence, how to get up in the right way, keep striking.”

“No secret.”

“What’s the deciding factor against Islam?” he asked rhetorically.

“I think my knockout power and the way I like to hurt my opponents also.”

Prates has won all of his UFC fights so far by knockout.

At UFC 336, he plans to finish the Morales fight the same way, as he also told LowKick MMA, after which he will send Makhachev to the shadow realm, as mentioned above.

The Team Fighting Nerds member also said that once he becomes champion, he would be willing to run it back with Ian Machado Garry, the man who ended Prates’ undefeated UFC record in 2025.

Prates’ manager, Lucas Lutkus, says Islam Makhachev declined a proposed January title defense against the Brazilian without explaining his decision to the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Prates was expected to challenge Makhachev for the undisputed welterweight championship at UFC 336 on Jan. 30, 2027, in Toronto.

Instead, he will face Michael Morales for the interim title.

Speaking to MMA Fighting, Lutkus said the UFC had told Prates’ team to prepare for Makhachev and that the Brazilian immediately accepted.

“Islam said at the press conference that he wanted to fight before Ramadan,” Lutkus said.

“And the UFC had already told us that the plan was to have this fight at the first numbered event in January.”

“Get ready for that date.”

Lutkus said the UFC later informed him that Makhachev would not be ready for January.

“The UFC called me last Tuesday and said, ‘Islam is out,’” Lutkus said.

“I asked if it was an injury, and they said Islam hadn’t given them a reason.”

“He had only said he wouldn’t be ready for January.”

The change caught Prates’ camp off guard, Lutkus said, particularly after Makhachev had publicly expressed a desire to fight before Ramadan and indicated that Prates deserved a title shot.

“I don’t think even the UFC really knows what happened,” Lutkus said.

“Anyway, something made him change his mind.”

“I’m not naive enough to think Islam Makhachev is afraid to fight Carlos Prates, but something made him change his mind.”

Lutkus also said the promotion was unhappy with Makhachev’s decision.

“The UFC doesn’t know either, and that’s why they were a little upset with Islam,” Lutkus said.

Makhachev has only lost once in MMA, a knockout defeat to Adriano Martins in 2016.