Carlos Prates isn’t done ripping into Islam Makhachev over the welterweight champion’s refusal to fight him in January.
Makhachev was expected to face Prates at UFC 336 in Toronto on January 30th, but a late change in Makhachev’s plans led to the UFC booking Carlos Prates vs. Michael Morales for the interim welterweight title instead. According to UFC, Makhachev said he wouldn’t be ready to compete in January (despite demanding a January return date following his win over Ian Machado Garry in August).
Soon after, Islam released a statement saying Prates and Morales needed to fight each other to figure out who was the true No. 1 contender, and he’d fight that person later on. Fan sentiment hasn’t been on his side since that statement, and Prates has been slamming Makhachev online for ducking him. That led to Makhachev manager Ali Abdelaziz firing back.
“You’re a contender,” Abdelaziz wrote. “Islam is the champion and maybe the greatest fighter of this generation. Talk less, because he’ll make you look bad. None of you add to his legacy. He fights for passion, love of the sport, and the fans.”
“If he fights for passion, he would fight the number 1 contender in January,” Prates responded. “I will not add anything on his legacy, I will finish his legacy brother. And also, he will make me look great. Mark my words.”
The words of Makhachev and his team aren’t resonating with fans because Carlos Prates is the worthy next challenger for the title. This isn’t a situation where there are no contenders left and the UFC is serving up the best of the rest. Prates is not only the most active and legitimate challenger, he’s extremely popular as well.
Welterweight is a messy logjam at the top, partially because of Makhachev’s habit of only fighting once every 10 months. For years fans laid that scheduling blame on the UFC. Now they have an example where it’s clearly Makhachev’s decision, and he’s getting all the hate, deserved or not.
