Carlos Prates added yet another accolade to his resume after he became the first person to knock out Leon Edwards after demolishing the former welterweight champion with a vicious straight left hand to end their fight at UFC 322.
The Brazilian promised he was going to end Edwards’ night in violent fashion and that’s exactly what he did. The finishing shot came after Prates let up a perfectly timed straight left hand that went right down the middle, cracked Edwards on the chin and sent him crashing
to the canvas in a heap.
The referee rushed in to save Edwards from further harm with the end coming at 1:28 in the second round.
“I think I’m the most entertaining guy in the welterweight division,” Prates said after his latest win. “I trained so much for a fight against that guy. Leon Edwards is a f*cking legend. Maybe in one hour I’ll come back in here for a faceoff with the champ.”
In a battle of strikers, Edwards actually connected with the first real shot after he landed a slick left hand and Prates fired back with a heavy leg kick that landed with a thud. Prates stayed aggressive with Edwards eventually countering with a well-timed punch before securing a takedown against the cage.
Edwards immediately jumped on the back with Prates standing up and playing defense to avoid a potential submission. Edwards nearly latched on a rear-naked choke just before the round ended.
Prates started attacking more with kicks on the restart and he was talking to Edwards, trying to draw the former champion into a brawl. A moment later, Prates threw the straight left that blasted Edwards on the chin and sent him to the shadow realm.
Following a loss to Ian Machado Garry back in April, Prates has gotten back on track with a pair of vicious knockouts as he continues to serve notice to the rest of the welterweight division that he’s still gunning for that title.
As for Edwards, he’s now dropped three fights in a row including falling by submission to Sean Brady and now suffering his first knockout loss in the matchup against Prates.
