Carlos Prates did it. And for that, he has received a direct response from Islam Makhachev. The Brazilian welterweight took on Jack Della Maddalena on Saturday at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Despite many expecting it to be a close bout, ‘The Nightmare’ secured a fantastic third-round knockout win. And immediately after, he made his intentions known while leaking Makhachev’s next opponent. 

“Prates says he wants the winner of Islam vs. Garry,” wrote Adam Martin on X. “So that fight is probably getting officially announced soon for UFC 330 in Philly. #UFCPerth.”

It’s worth noting that UFC has yet to confirm who Islam Makhachev will face next. The Dagestani sambo specialist has several potential opponents, with Ian Garry and Michael Morales emerging as leading names in the conversation. For his part, Makhachev has already stated that he has agreed to his next fight, though the identity of his opponent remains unconfirmed.

Both Michael Morales and Ian Garry have teased that they could be the opponent for Islam Makhachev as he looks to defend his title for the first time. However, Carlos Prates’ demand to face the winner of a potential clash between Makhachev and Garry has all but confirmed what the UFC may be planning behind the scenes. In any case, Makhachev later responded on X.

“Good job Nutella cake #ufcperth,” Makhachev wrote. 

‘Nutella cake,’ of course, is a bit of banter between Islam Makhachev and Carlos Prates. After learning that Prates was indulging in Nutella pancakes during fight week, Makhachev could hardly believe it. Prates, for his part, leaned into the moment, sharing videos of himself eating the cake while wearing a traditional Dagestani papakha. 

Regardless, this isn’t the first time Prates has spoken about Makhachev’s next opponent. 

“You have Morales, but he didn’t fight any former champs,” Prates told MMA Fighting, trying to make a case for his title shot. “You have Ian, he’s going to fight now against Makhachev, so the next [one] is going to be Carlos Prates.”

“Maybe,” he joked when asked whether he was sure Garry would fight Islam next. “We’ll see. Who knows?”

And the good news is Ian Garry has also teased his next move. 

Ian Garry teases the Islam Makhachev fight next as he responds to Carlos Prates

For weeks, Garry has built anticipation through cryptic social media posts centered on a mysterious phone call. That storyline reached a new peak when he shared a video of a phone ringing before dramatically diving to answer it.

He captioned the post, “Ring ring, see you soon.” The message strongly hints that negotiations for the blockbuster bout may be nearing completion.

Garry has been vocal about wanting to face Makhachev, framing it as the next chapter in the rivalry between Ireland and Dagestan. The narrative was originally shaped by the intense rivalry between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

In any case, after UFC Perth, Garry also responded to Prates’ callout to fight Islam Makhachev after Ian Garry. 

“Carlos after I beat Islam – You and I in Brazil let’s do it,” Garry wrote, seemingly confirming he will be fighting Makhachev next. 

Everything seems to be falling into place. Islam Makhachev is expected to face Ian Machado Garry next. The winner of that high-stakes clash would then move on to defend the welterweight title against Carlos Prates. But will this really happen?