Carlos Prates: Islam Makhachev 'chickened out' of UFC 336
“If you don't want to fight, vacate your belt and that's it.”
Carlos Prates did not hold back. In an interview overnight with Brazilian journalist Laerte Viana, "The Nightmare" accused UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev of ducking him at UFC 336 — and said the champion should give up the belt if he will not defend it.
The UFC tried to book Prates against Makhachev for the undisputed welterweight title in the UFC 336 main event on January 30 in Toronto. Makhachev declined. Instead, the promotion booked Prates against Michael Morales for the interim welterweight title at Scotiabank Arena.
"So the guy comes out saying he wants to be an active champion, and he wants to fight," Prates said. "Hunter [Campbell, UFC boss] even said that the date had been reserved for him. Then he just came out and said he didn't want it... He chickened out."
Prates' plan has not changed, only the order of it. "The situation I have now is to beat Morales and get the interim belt," he said. "Then I'm going to come back and beat Makhachev twice as badly as I was going to before, just so he learns his lesson and stops being such a coward."
"Right when the time finally came for me to achieve my dream of becoming champion, the guy pulls something like this," Prates said. "I was really pissed off but that's just how it is. Morales is going to be the one who pays the price now."
Prates says the UFC is as unhappy as he is. "The UFC was pissed. They didn't like it," he said. "If you don't have a serious injury and you're not hurt, then fight man. Your contract is for this. This is your job. If you don't want to fight, vacate your belt and that's it."
He went further still. "But instead you act like an asshole. That's some asshole shit, you know. You're unsure whether you're going to fight in January or not? Then don't go around talking about it, man. Just stay quiet, fake an injury or something. It would honestly be less bad if you faked an injury and pretended you were hurt."
Makhachev has defended his decision before. The champion questioned Prates' credentials after the Brazilian's unanimous decision loss to Ian Machado Garry, and argued Morales was already next in line for a title opportunity. Since winning the welterweight title by unanimous decision against Jack Della Maddalena in November 2025, Makhachev has defended it just once — a five-round win over Garry on August 15, 2026 — and fans will now wait until at least April for his next fight. Ramadan, which runs February 7 to March 8, 2027, could push his return toward the summer.
This is the latest round in a running back-and-forth. Prates accused Makhachev on Instagram on October 24 of delaying his seventeen-year pursuit of a championship; Makhachev answered in writing by pointing to their different results against Garry; Prates fired back again on October 27 after Ali Abdelaziz defended the champion's legacy.
The stakes for Prates are real. The 24-7 Brazilian has won three straight by stoppage since the Garry loss — Geoff Neal, Leon Edwards and Della Maddalena — and trains with The Fighting Nerds. Morales, unbeaten at 19-0, has three straight first-round stoppages of his own, over Neil Magny, Gilbert Burns and Sean Brady. The winner in Toronto holds the interim belt. The undisputed champion, Prates says, is the one who has to answer for why he is not there.
