Carlos Prates has already finished his fight with Michael Morales in his head, and now he’s moving on to Islam Makhachev’s career.
Ahead of their title fight at UFC 336, Prates sent a message straight at Makhachev, posted by Championship Rounds on X. “Don’t hide. After knocking Morales out, I’m gonna come back and retire Islam Makhachev from MMA,” Prates said.
Morales didn’t bother arguing with the first half of that sentence. He skipped right past Prates and claimed the Makhachev fight for himself. “I’m going to face Islam Makhachev. It’s coming back to Ecuador,” Morales said, in the same clip shared by Championship Rounds.
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So you have two guys who haven’t fought each other yet, both calling out the same man, both acting like the other one is a scheduling formality. I love it. This is the good kind of trash talk, where the winner of UFC 336 walks out with a belt and a callout already loaded.
The Face-Off and the Vape
The two got nose to nose at a face-off that Championship Rounds called intense, and the clip backs that up. Nobody blinked, nobody cracked a smile, and nobody needed security to pretend to hold them back. Real tension. No theater.
The lighter side of Prates’ camp also made the rounds. A clip from 209arthur on Instagram, reposted by Championship Rounds, shows Prates casually vaping while Charles Oliveira trains in front of him. A man promising to retire one of the most dominant fighters of his era, sitting there blowing clouds while do Bronx sweats through drills. That’s a very specific kind of confidence, and honestly I respect the vibe even if his coaches probably don’t.
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Why Makhachev’s Name Is Hot Right Now
The timing on Prates telling Makhachev not to hide is interesting, because Makhachev has been in the headlines for reasons that have nothing to do with a fight contract. On Nov. 11, Championship Rounds posted a statement from Makhachev defending Usman Nurmagomedov after Usman attacked Merab Dvalishvili.
Makhachev pushed back on the people criticizing Usman. “To those who are now condemning Usman and the guys and insulting them: why were you silent when Merab hit a Dagestani wrestler for no reason and insulted his honor?” he said in the statement. He went on to argue that Merab started the whole thing in his own homeland by hitting a guest and insulting his mother.
That statement didn’t land quietly. The MMA Guru fired back on X, defending Merab for handling his business on his own and accusing the Dagestani side of jumping people while outnumbering them. He capped it by telling Makhachev to sit on the sidelines and watch Prates vs. Morales. So yes, the internet has already dragged Makhachev into a fight he isn’t even on.
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Quick Take
I’m here for this. Prates gets the bigger quote and the better vape footage, but Morales is the one who made the sharper move by ignoring Prates entirely and talking like the belt is already packed for the flight home. My problem is with the guy getting called out. Makhachev is busy writing statements about a scrap involving Usman and Merab while two hungry contenders are lining up to take his spot as the face of the conversation. Prates and Morales settle it at UFC 336, and whoever has his hand raised gets to find out if Makhachev actually picks up the phone.
