No drinking, no smoking, no partying — and somehow still not enough time.
No. 1-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight contender Carlos Prates was expected to challenge Islam Makhachev for the 170-pound championship in the UFC 336 main event on Jan. 30, 2027, inside Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
However, Makhachev informed UFC officials that he would not be ready to compete in January and wanted to postpone his return until after Ramadan. Instead of allowing the division
to sit idle, UFC booked Prates against undefeated contender Michael Morales for an interim Welterweight championship.
Prates wasn’t particularly thrilled with the change.
“@islam_makhachev, I’ve been working for my dream to be a champion since I was 17 years old, and now you postponed it,” Prates wrote on Instagram in Portuguese. “I’m No. 1. I knocked out two former champions, while Morales only beat Sean Brady.”
“You told UFC you won’t be ready to fight in three months. Bro, you don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t party, and can’t prepare for a fight in three months? Let me show you how it’s done. January 30, I’ll knock out Michael Morales, and then I’ll come back to retire you.”
Prates certainly has a point about his resume. Since suffering a unanimous decision loss to Ian Machado Garry, the Brazilian knockout artist has rattled off three consecutive finishes, including stoppage wins over former Welterweight champions Leon Edwards (watch highlights) and Jack Della Maddalena (watch highlights).
Makhachev — or perhaps whoever runs the champion’s social media account — fired back by pointing toward their shared history with Garry.
“I just beat the guy who chased you around the Octagon for five rounds,” Makhachev wrote on social media. “Shut up and go train. You’re not on my level. See you soon. #maybe.”
UFC CEO Dana White was also less than pleased with Makhachev’s decision to sit out.
“On average, Islam fights like one time a year,” White said during the UFC 333 post-fight press conference. “He was slated for January and then said, ‘I don’t want to fight until after Ramadan.’ You can’t hold up divisions like this. You’ve got to keep moving, and this fight makes sense. No reason.”
First, Prates must get through Morales, who holds a perfect 19-0 professional record and is 7-0 inside the Octagon. If the chain-smoking Brazilian delivers another knockout in Toronto, his grudge match with Makhachev will become a title unification bout — with some added retirement threats thrown in for good measure.
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