Carlos Prates is confident that he can be the challenge Islam Makhachev is looking for. As the welterweight division continues to brim with top contenders, the Brazilian aims to shut down the ‘easy fight’ narrative and send a bold takedown message to the Dagestani champion.

Following Prates’ masterclass TKO victory over Jack Della Maddalena at UFC Perth earlier this month, Makhachev stated that he finds the matchup “interesting” because of the ongoing hype surrounding the Brazilian. Because of that, Daniel Cormier asked Prates for his thoughts in a recent interview, where the Brazilian surprisingly claimed that Makhachev likely sees him as an easier fight than another top contender, Ian Garry. However, Prates plans to flip the narrative by going toe-to-toe with the welterweight champion, stuffing all his takedown attempts.

“Well, I think he said that just because he thinks I’m easier to fight than Ian Garry,” Prates told Cormier. “I think so. Not easier, but less hard, let’s say. I don’t know, because maybe Ian beat me, you know, and like I said, Leon Edwards took me down, JDM took me down. So, you know, maybe Ian Garry took me down one time. Maybe he thinks it’s going to be easy. I haven’t tried to defend. I just opened my arms and smiled, like, ‘What the f–k is the guy doing?’ You know? I know, of course, he learned really good grappling, you know.

“When I fought Ian, Leon, and JDM, I knew, like, bro, I’m a BJJ black belt, you know? I’m not a competitor, but I’m a BJJ black belt. I’m good on the ground also. So I know these guys don’t want to finish me, and they want to keep me on the ground. And like I said, Makhachev is really good at grappling, really good. But until now, everybody who took me down, I got up. Yeah, until now, I know he’s not from another planet. You know, he’s human, like us. So let’s see if, when he takes me down, I cannot get up.”

Carlos Prates’s claim that Islam Makhachev thinks he is an easier fight than Ian Garry remains a personal perception. The welterweight champion never directly asserted that. On the contrary, the Russian has already acknowledged Prates as one of the more dangerous contenders at 170 lbs, alongside Garry, Kamaru Usman, and Michael Morales. For that reason, the ‘easy fight’ narrative largely remains part of the broader MMA fan discourse.

Still, when it comes to takedown threats, Prates does possess enough defensive tools to potentially create some problems for Makhachev on the ground. The Brazilian currently holds a solid 77% takedown defense rate, notably higher than Jack Della Maddalena’s 64%, according to UFC stats. However, it is the 32-year-old’s ability to quickly scramble back to his feet that arguably makes him difficult to control on the mat. Even during their fight at UFC Perth, while JDM did manage to take Prates down twice, he quickly scrambled to his feet and managed to knock out the former champion.

With that skill set attached, it would still be hard to deny that Makhachev’s elite grappling would give him a massive edge in a foreseeable matchup. However, that discussion may take a backseat for now, as the Dagestani is unlikely to defend his welterweight title immediately against Prates.

Currently, the promotion is eyeing Makhachev’s return against a ranked opponent in August in Philadelphia. With Prates already having fought ‘JDM’ this month, it seems unlikely that the promotion would allow such a quick turnaround for him.

In that case, another contender could take precedence, most likely Ian Garry or Michael Morales. Now, if the Irishman eventually shares the Octagon with Makhachev, one of his anticipated challengers believes an upset would not be too hard to imagine.

Ilia Topuria believes Ian Garry can knock out Islam Makhachev   

Just like in most of his fights, Islam Makhachev would likely get the oddsmakers’ nod against Ian Garry as well. However, Ilia Topuria, who is still aiming for a future clash with the Russian at 170 lbs, believes Garry has a legitimate chance to pull off an upset.

“It’s the fight business. Everyone has chances, everyone, and especially someone like Ian,” Topuria told ESPN MMA about Garry. “He’s been collecting a lot of experience during his run in the UFC, and why not? I see him with a lot of chances. And Islam, we already saw him getting knocked out in a fight, so why not for a second time?” 

Here, Topuria referenced Adriano Martins’ stunning first-round knockout win over Makhachev at UFC 192, which remains the Dagestani’s first and only professional MMA loss. However, Garry has historically been more of a volume-based striker than a one-punch knockout artist. In fact, his last stoppage victory came against Daniel Rodriguez at UFC on ABC 4 back in 2023.

With so many contenders vying for a shot at the title, it will be interesting to see who the UFC ultimately chooses for Makhachev’s first title defense. Alongside Ian Garry and Michael Morales, Carlos Prates has also seemingly cemented himself in the title picture, even if it remains unclear when exactly he will receive his big opportunity.