DATE DOESN'T WORK: Makhachev vs Prates OFF for UFC 336

The Toronto headliner is gone before it was ever announced. January 30 no longer works for the champion, and no replacement is named.

"Date doesn't work for Makhachev anymore. Unclear why."

Ariel Helwani wrote it on X on October 23, after Brazilian outlet Ag Fight first reported the news. With those two sentences, the UFC 336 main event was gone.

Islam Makhachev vs Carlos Prates was the plan for January 30, 2027, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, the first numbered UFC event of 2027. Now the UFC is looking elsewhere for a headliner, Helwani reported, and no replacement has been named.

How It Broke

Ag Fight broke it first on X on October 23: Makhachev was originally scheduled for the UFC 336 card but was out of the main event, with the promotion exploring new possibilities for the show.

Helwani then confirmed it through his own sources, writing that Makhachev vs Prates was "no longer the target to headline UFC 336 in Toronto" and that the bout "was originally the hope/plan."

That distinction matters. The fight was never officially announced by the UFC, and it was never finalized. This is not a signed title fight falling apart at the last minute. It is a plan collapsing, and Toronto is the card left holding the empty slot.

The Man Left Waiting

Prates is the No. 1 welterweight contender, and his case for the shot is built on knockouts. He has won three straight by knockout: Geoff Neal, former champion Leon Edwards, and former champion Jack Della Maddalena, the last of those at UFC Perth in May.

He did not wait long to answer the news. On October 24, Prates posted Nate Diaz's famous "I'm not surprised" clip to his Instagram Stories, Bloody Elbow reported. No caption was needed. The message was the shrug.

Before this news, Prates had edged ahead of Michael Morales in the pecking order for the title shot, thanks to that knockout of Della Maddalena. That is what makes the wait sting: he had done the work, and the date moved anyway.

White Says Almost Nothing

Dana White was asked about the reports on October 23, during Nina Drama's live stream from the Power Slap event. "Ah. Interesting," White replied, smiling. "Interesting." Then he changed the subject.

He confirmed nothing and denied nothing. With nothing announced for the card, there was nothing official for him to confirm, and the UFC boss's first reply was two words. It is still the only official sound from the promotion so far.

What Happens to the Title Picture

Makhachev is a two-division champion. He took the welterweight title by beating Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 in November 2025, then defended it against Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330 in August 2026, winning by unanimous decision.

That history is why January mattered: it was the next date on the champion's calendar, and Prates was the next man in line. Now both of those things are open questions.

Toronto Waits Too

Toronto has waited for this card too. UFC 336 is the promotion's first event in Toronto since January 2024, and the headliner was supposed to be the welterweight title. Now the city gets a date, an arena, and a question mark.

January was supposed to settle the division's next chapter. Instead, it opens it.

Nobody has said when Makhachev fights next. Nobody has said whether Prates still gets the next title shot, or whether Toronto gets a different headliner altogether. The UFC is looking elsewhere, Helwani reported, but elsewhere is not a name, and it is not a fight.

So the welterweight division waits, Toronto waits, and the No. 1 contender waits longest of all. Who headlines UFC 336 now?