Carlos Prates attended UFC 330, which went down in Philadelphia last week, to closely watch the performance of the man he’s likely to face next. Islam Makhachev ended up beating Ian Garry in the headliner, making it clear that ‘The Nightmare’ could face the Dagestani next for the title. But as the clash unfolded, Prates ran into Michael Morales and his seemingly drunk friend, and it’s safe to say they narrowly avoided a confrontation.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
The Brazilian recently appeared on Ariel Helwani’s show, where the veteran journalist asked him about crossing paths with Morales and his friend at Xfinity Arena. In response, Prates made it clear to Morales that he’ll be the one facing Makhachev next. In doing so, he also suspected that the Ecuadorian contender’s friend may have been drunk when he encountered them.
“Not him, not him,” Prates said. “Most of the time, not him. Because he came to me one time and asked me, like, ‘Hey, you gonna fight?’ And then I said, ‘Yes, I’m gonna fight Islam, and then I can fight you. And then I can knock you out,’ I said that. And then his friend, like, he was probably very drunk. I don’t know that guy: he started to talk, ‘Hey, Prates, let’s fight.’ I think he wants to be famous like Morales, and me, Ian, and all, but he’s a nice guy too. Probably was drunk.”
Here, Carlos Prates talked about meeting Michael Morales’ friend, Martin Gonzalez, who was very animated about the two welterweight contenders facing each other. Gonzalez uploaded a video of the pair facing each other at UFC 330 and repeatedly shouted, “Let’s go! Prates vs. Morales, let’s go!” to hype up a possible fight. In the clip, Prates again clarified that he’s going to face Islam Makhachev first and then Morales would be next, but Gonzalez kept shouting, “Let’s go!”
Looking at ‘The Nightmare’s’ frustrated expression, Ariel Helwani believed Carlos Prates was close to losing his patience and speculated that he was itching to land a slap.
“I thought you were gonna slap him there,” Helwani said.
However, Carlos Prates clarified that although he suspects Morales’ friend was actually drunk when he tried to hype up their potential fight, he remained civil throughout the interaction, and the two were essentially having a civilized conversation.
Because Michael Morales’ friend didn’t cross the line, Carlos Prates avoided slapping him. But it’s hard to deny that things could have escalated quickly with two welterweight contenders facing each other.
That’s not the first time the undefeated Ecuadorian has found himself running into a fellow welterweight. During the same event, Ian Garry also confronted him backstage after losing in the UFC 330 main event. Though the reason for their dispute isn’t clear, but fortunately, cooler heads prevailed there too.
That said, as Carlos Prates sounds really confident about his chances of facing Islam Makhachev next, fans are also hyped about a potential title eliminator against Michael Morales. Both have exciting fighting styles and serious knockout power, making it a compelling matchup. Now, as the two also crossed paths at UFC 330, that encounter could add another layer to their potential storyline.
In that case, it would be interesting to see what the promotion’s matchmakers have in store for us when it comes to the 170-pound title picture.
