“I have more time living smoking than without smoking. So for me, it’s normal. I smoke before the fight, on the day of the fight, it’s normal,” Carlos Prates told Full Send MMA before facing Ian Garry at UFC Kansas City. ‘The Nightmare’s left hand had already haunted a few welterweights, but there were questions if his habits might catch up to him against a sharp, technical striker like ‘The Future’. After a rough night for the Brazilian, the advice started pouring in, most of it pointing fingers at his smoking habits.

Prates has always been open about his lifestyle, especially his cigarette addiction. He’s one of those fighters who have picked up some habits in tough times and still made it to the biggest stage in MMA. ‘The Nightmare’ even shared that he was banging out five to six rounds in training while still smoking. Before the Garry fight, he said he cut back a little on the nicotine too. However, the way he couldn’t push the pace or wear down Garry in the fight just gave people more chances to call out his vices.

The Brazilian came real close with his ground and pound flurry in the fifth round, and if he had a little more pop on those shots, the fight might’ve swung his way. Still, a lot of folks were impressed by how he held up, even with his heavy smoking habit. MMA veteran Josh Thomson was one of them. He gave Prates credit for his performance but admitted he was hoping for a little more output throughout the fight.

Thompson at Weighing in with John McCarthy said, “Man I thought Ian Garry looked good. The movement was there. Also too with Prates. If you would’ve went earlier. In just spurts, not even a lot, and made him, shoot more often. He would have been a lot more tired, like down the stretch you would’ve had more success. But the lesson that I learned by watching Prates is man, like you should probably stop smoking.”

He added, “You were so close! I’m like man if you have quit smoking, you’d have a little more output. Just different ways of looking at it right. He looked like, he had the cardio, but he was exhausted in the 5th, obviously he was trying to get him outta there. But, all he had to do, was a little bit more.”

Couldn’t agree more with ‘The Punk’ on this one. Prates was definitely impressive and tagged Garry clean a couple of times. He even ate a nasty left-hand uppercut combo and showed he’s got a solid chin. If the Brazilian can push through five rounds while being a heavy smoker, imagine what he could do if he kicked the habit. His cardio would level up big time, and he’d probably carry that vicious power all the way to the final bell. This fight didn’t go the Brazilian’s way, but he’s not backing down. He believes the rematch will come, and when it does, it’ll be for the undisputed title shot.

Ian Garry and Carlos Prates hope to rematch for the title

Ian Garry and Carlos Prates both speak fluent Brazilian Portuguese. After the fight, the two had a backstage chat, mostly in Portuguese, where they seemed to agree on a rematch further down the line—maybe even for a title shot. Garry went a step further, offering his helping hand to Prates, suggesting that the Brazilian train him for his future fights.

In the video, Garry said, “You’re sinister! You have a very strong heart. Thank You for accepting the fight.” Prates replied, “I feel we are going to see each other again. You know may be for the title.” Garry replied back, “Dude these hands has power! I just want to say if you want to go to the top!