Carlos Prates wants Islam Makhachev, and he has a slogan ready. In a clip that circulated late Thursday, Prates called out the UFC welterweight champion and described himself as “wrestling’s worst nightmare,” according to a post from Championship Rounds on X. His pitch is simple. He believes his striking is the thing an elite grappler should fear.
How seriously to take the delivery is another matter. The account @DovySimuMMA shared what appears to be the same moment with a caption describing Prates as drunk and three laughing emojis, so the setting may have been looser than a press conference podium. The callout still landed, and it landed at a moment when the top of the division is crowded with people asking for the same fight.
A crowded line at 170
Makhachev holds the welterweight title, and Ian Machado Garry has already had his shot at him, as MMA Fighting noted this week. Behind them, two unbeaten contenders are circling. Michael Morales (19-0) recently released a video naming Makhachev, Prates, Garry and Shavkat Rakhmonov, whom he called “the final boss.” Morales has not been booked since beating Sean Brady in November 2025, a win that capped a run of three straight first-round knockouts over Brady, Gilbert Burns and Neil Magny.
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Rakhmonov (19-0) has been out since December 2024 with persistent knee injuries, which kept him from cashing in on his win over Garry. He hinted in a TikTok caption at a matchup of undefeated records, and given the numbers involved, most people read that as a nod to Morales. Nothing is official.
Makhachev, meanwhile, has been in Kyrgyzstan this week. Videos posted by @DovySimuMMA showed him there, including one of him playing kokboru.
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Covington isn’t buying it
Prates has at least one loud skeptic. Colby Covington, in comments shared by Ariel Helwani on X, said Prates has no chance against the champion and called it a mismatch in Makhachev’s favor.
“Carlos has nothing for him. He’s just a straight striker. That’s gonna be the easiest fight of Makhachev’s career,” Covington said. “I think he takes him down and submits him with like a Kimura or a head-and-arm choke.”
Covington was more careful with Morales, saying, “We gotta see how his takedown defense is. We haven’t seen him in any big fights, high-level five-round fights, so we don’t know what to expect from him.”
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My take: “wrestling’s worst nightmare” is a good line, and I hope Prates gets the chance to back it up, but it’s a claim that only gets tested in one place. Makhachev’s whole career has been built on making strikers prove they can stay upright for 25 minutes, and he doesn’t argue about it on the microphone. He chains, he waits, he finishes. Prates calling him out from what may have been a night out is fine fun for a Thursday. The order of business at the top looks more like Morales and Rakhmonov sorting out who between two 19-0 records is the real problem, while the champion, for now, is busy on horseback in Kyrgyzstan.
