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Prates Predicts He'll Get 'Smashed' Early Before Knocking Out Makhachev

Carlos Prates, the Brazilian welterweight contender, says he expects to be 'smashed' early in a potential title fight against Islam Makhachev but predicts he will rally to knock out the champion in the fourth or fifth round. Prates, who attended Makhachev's UFC 330 win over Ian Machado Garry, cited Anderson Silva's comeback over Chael Sonnen as his blueprint.

By Tertius News AI Desk 2 distinct · 2 mastheads · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Aug 31, 2026 Published 2h ago

Carlos Prates has a clear vision for how a UFC welterweight title fight against Islam Makhachev would unfold: he expects to get battered early, then find a finish.

Speaking to former UFC fighter Gilbert Burns on his YouTube channel, Prates said he anticipates being overwhelmed in the opening rounds before turning the tide.

"I think I'm going to start by getting smashed, and the first time I manage to get back to my feet and start hurting him, I'm going to knock him out somewhere around the fourth or fifth round," Prates said, per MMA Fighting.

Prates, who attended Makhachev's first title defense against Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330 in Philadelphia, compared his projected path to Anderson Silva's comeback victory over Chael Sonnen at UFC 148 in July 2012. In that fight, Sonnen dominated the first round and secured mount, but Silva knocked him out in the second.

"You look at his fight with Chael Sonnen, Chael Sonnen got the mount in the first round. In the second, (Silva) went out there and knocked the guy out. And that's what I think is going to happen," Prates said.

Makhachev defeated Garry via finish at UFC 330, extending his UFC-record win streak to 17 fights. While Garry was able to stop takedowns and get back to his feet at times, Prates said watching that performance live gave him added confidence.

"If he was able to get Makhachev off his back, I can do it too. I became even more confident," Prates said. "Based on the things I saw and the amount of time we have to train, I was like, '(expletive), I think we can do this.'"

Prates has won two straight fights since a April 2025 loss to Garry, both by knockout over former UFC welterweight champions Leon Edwards and Jack Della Maddalena. He also holds a finish over Geoff Neal.

Makhachev has publicly stated he prefers to face Prates next, according to com. The champion is planning to return before Ramadan, which would put his next defense no later than January 2027.

How each outlet told it

A framing line is our reading of that outlet's own text — an interpretation, not a quotation and not a fact we assert. Check it against what the outlet published.

Heavy.

Framing: Carlos Prates breaking down how a fight with Islam Makhachev would go — confident and analytical

as of Aug 31, 2026, 7:16 PM UTC

Facts Included:

Carlos Prates broke down how a title fight against UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev would go for him.
Makhachev defeated Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330 in his first title defense.
Prates won two straight fights against former UFC welterweight champions Leon Edwards and Jack Della Maddalena via KO.
Prates spoke to former UFC fighter Gilbert Burns on his YouTube channel.
Prates compared the fight to Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen at UFC 148 in July 2012.
Prates predicted he would get smashed, then knock out Makhachev in the fourth or fifth round.
Makhachev's win over Machado Garry showcased Garry's success stopping takedowns and getting back up.
Prates said he became more confident after watching that fight live.
Makhachev's UFC-record win streak is 17 fights in a row.
Prates cited Ian Garry defending positions like the back against the cage, which Prates also does.

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Yardbarker

Framing: Prates's own expectation of being 'smashed' early against Makhachev, highlighting his anticipated struggle before a comeback. — dramatic and anticipatory

as of Aug 31, 2026, 8:46 PM UTC

Facts Included:

Carlos Prates expects a rough start against Islam Makhachev for the UFC welterweight title.
Prates attended Makhachev's first defense of the 170-pound belt against Ian Machado Garry in Philadelphia.
Prates told retired fighter Gilbert Burns he anticipates weathering an early grappling storm.
Prates said: 'I think I'm going to start by getting smashed, and the first time I manage to get back to my feet and start hurting him, I'm going to knock him out somewhere around the fourth or fifth round,' per MMA Fighting.
Prates compared his projected path to Anderson Silva's comeback win over Chael Sonnen.
Sonnen secured mount in the opening round before Silva knocked him out in the second.
Prates believes his recent resume — finishes over Geoff Neal, Leon Edwards, and Jack Della Maddalena — should earn him the next shot.
Makhachev has publicly stated he prefers to face Prates next.
The champion plans to return before Ramadan, which would put his next defense no later than January 2027.
Prates dropped his bout with Garry in April 2025.

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

AI-extracted; can misattribute a claim — see Methodology.

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status is Contested when two claims on this page negate each other; otherwise it counts the distinct outlets we found asserting that specific claim — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimCarlos Prates broke down how a title fight against UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev would go for him, predicting he would start by getting smashed and then knock out Makhachev in the fourth or fifth round.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Heavy. as of Aug 31, 2026, 7:16 PM UTC, Yardbarker as of Aug 31, 2026, 8:46 PM UTC
ClaimMakhachev defeated Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330 in his first title defense.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Heavy. as of Aug 31, 2026, 7:16 PM UTC, Yardbarker as of Aug 31, 2026, 8:46 PM UTC
ClaimPrates has won two straight fights against former UFC welterweight champions Leon Edwards and Jack Della Maddalena via KO.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Heavy. as of Aug 31, 2026, 7:16 PM UTC
ClaimPrates' wins over Edwards and Della Maddalena were finishes.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Yardbarker as of Aug 31, 2026, 8:46 PM UTC
ClaimPrates spoke to former UFC fighter Gilbert Burns on his YouTube channel.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Heavy. as of Aug 31, 2026, 7:16 PM UTC
ClaimPrates compared the fight to Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen at UFC 148 in July 2012.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Heavy. as of Aug 31, 2026, 7:16 PM UTC
ClaimIn the Silva vs. Sonnen comparison, Sonnen got mount in the first round, and Silva knocked him out in the second.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Heavy. as of Aug 31, 2026, 7:16 PM UTC, Yardbarker as of Aug 31, 2026, 8:46 PM UTC
ClaimPrates' recent wins include finishes over Geoff Neal, Leon Edwards, and Jack Della Maddalena.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Yardbarker as of Aug 31, 2026, 8:46 PM UTC
ClaimMakhachev's UFC-record win streak is 17 fights in a row.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Heavy. as of Aug 31, 2026, 7:16 PM UTC
ClaimMakhachev has publicly stated he prefers to face Prates next.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Yardbarker as of Aug 31, 2026, 8:46 PM UTC
ClaimMakhachev plans to return before Ramadan, which would put his next defense no later than January 2027.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via Yardbarker as of Aug 31, 2026, 8:46 PM UTC
ClaimPrates dropped a fight with Ian Garry in April 2025.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Yardbarker as of Aug 31, 2026, 8:46 PM UTC
ClaimPrates has won three straight knockout wins since dropping a fight to Ian Garry.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Yardbarker as of Aug 31, 2026, 8:46 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

2 distinct · 2 mastheads · 2 articles consulted: Heavy., Yardbarker 13 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-31