Born in Taubaté, in the interior of São Paulo, Carlos Prates, 31, is one of the biggest bets of the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) for the year 2025.
Muay Thai and Kickboxing and Jiu-Jitsu’s Kickboxing, Prates, whose nickname is ‘The Nightmare’ (The Nightmare), made his debut at the MMA event last year, after standing out at Contender Series, a program in which Dana White, boss of UFC, hunting new talents to fight in the octogan.
In his first year at UFC, Prates caught the attention of opponents with overwhelming performance – four fights, there were four wins, all by knockout, who earned him four night’s performance bonus.
The accuracy of the blows, the dodge and the style of fighting with the low guard made Dana even compare Prates with Anderson Silva.
“Soft. Calm. Violent. Absolutely amazing combinations. He can fight anyone. The way he fought tonight (against Mitch Ramirez, Contender Series), reminds me of Anderson Silva ‘of the old’, young and peak,” said the executive.
With a trajectory in the world of struggles that started in adolescence and had a training period in Thailand, Prates says that the start at UFC, the way it was, surprised even himself.
“I was prepared, but being sincere, I didn’t expect it to all. Four knockouts, four bonuses, a ‘main event’ Sheet.
The meteoric rise of the taubatean is even more impressive because he is one of the few professional fighters, if not the only one, who declares himself openly smoker.
“Cigarette may affect my performance, it may not be, but when I’m in the octogan, I feel good. The crowd can be carefree because I have gas to fight three rounds and when it is a fight of five rounds [em disputas de cinturão]I will be with gas to fight the five rounds, “he says, who started with the habit at age 12 and even smoking up to ten cigarettes a day.
In football, Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, 34, who recently left retirement to defend Barcelona, has also admitted the cigarette addiction. “It is no one of anyone’s account if I smoke,” said the archer with passages through Arsenal, Rome and Juventus.
Prates adds that he has been trying to lead a healthier life, with a balanced diet indicated by the nutritionist and less night out for parties, but does not think of quitting smoking, at least for now.
“Sometimes I even want to stop, but I don’t feel like stopping,” sincerely recognizes the fighter, who got fat five pounds in a week during an attempt to quit smoking.
He adds that addiction does not interfere with his dedication to training. “When I have a marked fight, I am the first to arrive and the last to leave the gym,” he says, who is divided between training in Taubaté and São Paulo.
In São Paulo, he trains in The Fighting Nerds, recognized for the accurate analysis of opponents to trace the struggle strategy of his athletes. She was elected last year the best gym at World MMA Awards, awards considered the Oscar of the mixed martial arts. It was the first Brazilian academy to win the award in 16 editions.
The four fighters currently competing at UFC – in addition to Prates, Caio Borralho, Jean Silva and Maurício Ruffy – so far boast a perfect cartel of 18 wins at the event, 11 of them by knockout, and no defeat.
Current 13th in the ranking of the half-medium category (up to 77.5 kg), Prates has his next fight scheduled for April 12, when he measures forces with the American Geoff Neal (10th) at UFC 314 in Miami, United States.
“He is above me in the ranking, so a victory can make me reach the top 10 of the category,” says the Brazilian. “Let’s make it happen. Go there, put another knockout, one more bonus and another victory for Brazil.”
Prates says the belt of the category, today under the possession of Belal Muhammad, is naturally a goal set. But it points out that it is in no hurry to reach the ‘title shot’.
“The longer it takes to the belt, the more well prepared I will be. I prefer to wait a while to be better prepared and, when it happens, have no mistake.”
He also says that comparisons with Anderson Silva are rewarding, but is not dazzled by them. Prates states that he wants to trace his own way to in the future be the reference.
“Anderson Silva is Anderson Silva. I am working now to, in ten years, appear another good guy at Contender Series and Dana says: ‘This guy looks like Carlos Prates when he was young.'”
