Carlos Prates had already zeroed in on Islam Makhachev, criticizing him for backing out of their proposed fight. But little did anyone expect, the Brazilian’s sight will include Khabib Nurmagomedov as well. The way the welterweight champion and his legendary trainer-mentor have handled their respective careers has left Prates visibly disturbed.

“I think Khabib and Islam, they’re the same,” Prates said in an interview with Squawka, a sports media brand. “They book fights when they want, when they feel really good. Of course, it’s OK—they are the champs. When Khabib was champ, he did the same. You wait too long to fight; do maybe one fight per year. It is what it is. I don’t think it’s the right way to do things.”

Prates’ comments center on the circumstances surrounding his upcoming fight against Michael Morales. Prates and the Ecuadorian welterweight contender are scheduled for a face-off on January 30 at UFC 336. However, before the matchup was confirmed, reports suggested that Prates would be lined for a shot at Makhachev’s title.

UFC CEO Dana White confirmed that Makhachev had verbally agreed to the Prates matchup.

However, Makhachev decided to pull out of the proposed fight. Making his position clear, the Russian champion said he expected top contenders to clear the division before calling him out.

His move frustrated Prates since it denied him an opportunity to become a champion.

Compared to Makhachev, who has restricted himself to one or two fights per year, Prates has been competing aggressively. 2026 could be treated as an exception case, where he fought only once, against Jack Della Maddalena on May 2. Otherwise, while in 2024 he fought four times, in 2025 he entered the cage on three occasions.

Nurmagomedov’s championship reign displays a similar pattern. In 2020, the year he retired, the Russian legend had only one bout—the title defense against Justin Gaethje.

The fight took place 13 months after he stopped Dustin Poirier via third-round submission. The fight in Abu Dhabi, meanwhile, unfolded 11 months after the historic showdown against Conor McGregor at UFC 229.

Cherry-picking the date and opponent is a familiar debate in the MMA community. Besides Prates, a few prominent figures have also reflected on the issue.

The cost of keeping a division in limbo

While addressing Makhachev’s situation, Dana White shared his thoughts on the consistency needed from MMA champions.

“I don’t know,” White said. “I think when you get to a position where he’s (Makhachev) at and what he’s accomplished, who knows what he’s thinking or what he wants to do next, you know?

“But obviously I like when guys fight a lot. Being the champ, you know, I don’t really expect you to fight three times a year, but twice would be nice. What it does is it starts to back up the division. There are lots of guys who would like a shot at the title.”

Meanwhile, Makhachev’s recent comments about his future in UFC left Prates seething with anger.

“My next fight is one of the last in my career,” Makhachev wrote on X. “They say Prates is too dangerous for me and Morales is too good for me. So I want to face the best of them and prove to the world once again who is the best in the world.”

Prates felt Makhachev’s stance was absurd.

“Why is Makhachev talking about retirement?” he said. “Maybe he made enough money and just wants to enjoy time with his family in his own country and take care of his family. That’s what everybody should do. At some point, you stop and take care of family, health, and everything. I think he’s doing the right thing.”

Given that reports suggest Makhachev could return after Ramadan, Prates opined that if the welterweight champion says, “Oh, I’m not ready,” then he should definitely consider retirement.

For a fighter who criticized his rivals at a competitive level, this could mark the first time Prates has taken a strong exception to a prominent figure or legend’s schedule, accusing them of picking fights as and when they want.

But a closer look suggests the UFC has a history of fighters who adopted a one-to-two fight format and were also accused of picking dates or opponents.

Through his career, Jon Jones averaged less than one fight per year. It includes his three-year hiatus before moving up to the heavyweight division. Fans frequently criticized him for holding the division and “picking his spots.” Jones’ fight against Stipe Miocic came under scrutiny, as many felt that he waited over a year after the Ciryl Gane fight instead of facing active, mandatory interim title holders like Tom Aspinall.

Similar criticisms were leveled against former middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev. The Chechen star is well known for his one-fight-per-year approach. Despite a massive promotional push, the Chechen fighter’s low activity made him a target of severe criticism. Rivals like Sean Strickland blamed Chimaev for “disrupting the middleweight division.”