Carlos Prates did not come away from UFC 330 more intimidated by Islam Makhachev. He said watching the champion work through Ian Machado Garry’s defense made a future title fight look more manageable.
Prates explained his read during a conversation with Gilbert Burns. The complete source clip is below.
Carlos Prates says he is MORE confident that he will beat Islam Makhachev after watching him face Ian Machado Garry:
“Man, honestly I think I got even more confident man. Because of the stuff I’ve seen and the time we have to train, I said man I think it’s possible.”
Via: @GilbertDurinho
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) August 27, 2026
Prates Saw Familiar Fence Positions At UFC 330
Prates began with the larger conclusion: the performance increased his confidence rather than reducing it.
“Man, honestly, I think I got even more confident, man. Because of the stuff I’ve seen and the time we have to train, I said, man, I think it’s possible.”
He then pointed to Garry’s defense with his back near the fence. Prates said those exchanges resembled positions he already works through in his own fights.
“I already thought so, right, man? Then I saw Ian Garry defend some positions the way I do, like the back against the fence. I said, damn, I do that a lot.”
“I don’t know, you were saying he made an adjustment because he’s very tall and it’s hard for Makhachev to get the hooks in. It’s difficult. So I said, damn, man, you can adapt that. And that defense he used—man, I do that every fight. I did it on Ian himself several times.”
Prates Believes His Standing Defense Changes The Risk
The distinction, according to Prates, is that Garry sometimes sat down and reached behind him while defending. Prates said he prefers to remain standing, which he believes limits the danger of conceding position.
“But he would sit down, man. He would sit down and reach back, trying to take the back. I do everything standing up, man, so there’s no risk of losing the position. So I said, man, I think this guy’s gonna get screwed, you know? I think when I get a hold of him.”
Makhachev defeated Garry by unanimous decision at UFC 330, extending his UFC winning streak to 17. Prates had already moved into the title conversation when Makhachev named him as a deserving challenger after the fight.
Prates later attached a date and location to that campaign by targeting Makhachev at UFC 334 in New York. His latest remarks add a technical argument to the callout: he believes the fence exchanges in the Garry fight revealed defensive positions he can handle without sitting down.
That claim will remain theoretical unless the UFC makes the matchup. It also cuts directly against Sean Brady’s view that Makhachev can exploit Prates on the ground. Prates, however, is now publicly arguing that UFC 330 gave him more evidence for the fight, not less.
