Carlos Prates wants to boost his meteoric rise in the UFC with a top-ranked foe in the first quarter of 2025.
Now 3-0 in the UFC, with a trio of bonus-winning knockouts this year, Prates headlines UFC Vegas 100 this Saturday against 33-time octagon welterweight veteran Neil Magny at the UFC APEX, and already has a target in mind for his next bout. Previously linked to a fight with Randy Brown, he plans to call for a bigger name instead.
“I think I’ll be way ahead with a win over Neil Magny,” Prates said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “I’ll be ranked, and there’s no point fighting Randy Brown anymore. He ran from me once, there’s no point chasing him—although I think he’s way easier than Neil Magny. I was looking at the ranking, and I want to fight in Australia in February. Maybe I’ll call out Jack Della Maddalena.”
UFC’s return to Sydney is scheduled for Feb. 8 and Maddalena is expected to be on the card after winning seven straight in the octagon, most recently a third-round stoppage over Gilbert Burns. Prates finished Li Jingliang this past August.
“I don’t know if the UFC would make this fight because of the rankings, but that’s the fight I want at the moment,” Prates said. “And I don’t know if he would take this fight either since I’m ranked lower than him, but that fight would make me happy and I think it makes sense. Let’s go! If you don’t ask, you don’t get.”
Maddalena has won five of his seven UFC bouts via stoppage and Prates is confident he could be the first to finish the Australian standout inside the octagon.
“We would break each other in there,” Prates said with a laugh. “He’s a durable guy and hard to knock out, so I think it would be three rounds of war. I think I’d beat him, but it would be tough. It would be awesome.”
Magny is his next assignment and Prates predicts a finish before entering the championship rounds to make a case for a big name next, especially after seeing Shavkat Rakhmonov and Ian Machado Garry get big jumps in the division after beating the veteran.
Prates admitted he expected to be the favorite against Magny, but was surprised to see the veteran such a heavy underdog odds-wise. The 31-year-old striker, however, vows not to underestimate Magny in Las Vegas.
“I expected to be the favorite considering my 10-fight winning streak and my knockouts and the fact I’m younger, but not by that much,” Prates said. “I see comments online of people kind of underestimating Neil Magny. I think I’ll win, I think I’ll knock him out, but I don’t expect an easy fight like some are saying because he’s experienced and can slow down a fight. He’s ranked No. 15 in the world for a reason, right? He’s beaten a lot of hyped fighters, so I’m working to make sure he doesn’t derail my hype.”
“I think I’ll knock him out around the third round,” he added. “He won’t come in trying to trade with me. I think he will wrestle and try to hold me against the cage. I don’t even know if he will try to take me down, just do that boring fight, you know? That’s what I expect. If he comes in trading, that’s great, but I’m ready for everything.”
