With a five-fight win streak on his UFC resume, the Brazilian Muay Thai legend was living up to his nickname, ‘The Nightmare’, as he knocked out all five of his opponents and didn’t take longer than the 2nd round in any of them. With a trailblazing momentum, Carlos Prates was ready to face off against his toughest challenge yet when he went inside the Octagon to face Ian Garry in Kansas City.

After the dust settled, Ian Garry’s superior experience at the top helped him beat Prates. In the process, Garry also removed the undefeated label from Prates’ group, ‘The Fighting Nerds’, including names like Caio Burralho, Jean Silva, and Mauricio Ruffy. What followed was an emotional Carlos Prates, showing his vulnerability and expressing sadness after losing his first bout in the last six years. He addressed his loss, saying: “Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish the fight, and that wasn’t enough. Sorry family, I’ll come back stronger!”

On his path to recovery after moving on from the setback, it seems Prates is back looking to take on an opponent in the welterweight division to silence the doubters and earn him a place among the title contenders as soon as he can. And for the task ahead, ‘The Nightmare’ channeled his inner Khabib Nurmagomedov as he told the world on IG: “Ready to get back in the cage. Send me location.”

The welterweight division of the UFC is full of top-tier competitors. Getting into his ‘Khabib’ mentality will surely have its benefits for Prates and his future in the UFC. Garry was able to beat Prates through strong control between their distances, and ‘The Future’ took advantage of the smallest of openings. Still proud fans of Prates believe its just a minor setback for the fighter as he has big things planned in his career ahead.

But being ready to fight isn’t everything you need. You also need an opponent, a target set to compete against and beat. So who will Carlos Prates go up against next?

One of the most loved mixed-martial artists ever, ranked #11 in the 170-pound division of the UFC, a Karate legend, has issued a challenge for ‘The Nightmare’, as he wants to trade blows with him and drink beer with him afterwards.

Stephen Thompson makes a ‘polite’ callout to Carlos Prates

The 42 year old Stephen Thompson is famous for his politeness and kind demeanor outside the Octgon. The ‘Wonderboy’ has never been the one to talk trash about his opponents, so much so, that when his opponents trash talk him, they automatically turn a little bit unlikable for the MMA community. In simpler words, no one messes with our ‘Wonderboy’.

But that is not all to him. Inside the Octagon, Thompson has earned a name for himself through his amazing striking skills and Karate expertise. Through his abilities, Thompson was even able to challenge for the welterweight title on two occasions against Tyron Woodley, drawing their first bout and losing the second. Nowadays, however, Thompson is on a two-fight losing streak after losses to Shavkat Rakhmonov and Joaquin Buckley. ‘Wonderboy’ too has too test himself with the new challengers to find out if he wants to call it quits or still compete at this age.

One look at his resume and you can see the caliber of opponents that Thompson prefers to compete against, and his callout to Carlos Prates embodies the same intent. In his callout to Prates, Thompson said: “It will be a striking extravaganza. Carlos Prates, will you please sign the contract—let’s punch each other in the face, and go have a beer afterwards, maybe a few cigarettes on your part.” Indeed, whoever wins the bout, one thing is guaranteed: with their striking on display, we will certainly witness fireworks in their potential showdown.

On one side, we have a fighter hungry to prove himself in the UFC, while on the other, we have a veteran just a few fights away from hanging his gloves but wants to play with fire as long as he’s still there. So, will the two titans cross each other’s paths? More importantly, will Prates be able to outclass a veteran this time around? What do you think? Let us know in the comments.