With his impressive beatdown of Jack Della Maddalena at UFC Perth, Carlos Prates believes he\u2019s done enough to earn a title shot against welterweight champ Islam Makhachev.<\/p>\n
Prates pummeled his Australian opponent mercilessly in front of JDM\u2019s hometown crowd, hitting him with big knees and using his length to punish every time Della Maddalena stepped into range. By the third round it felt like a mercy when he finally went down to the canvas, allowing Prates to earn a TKO finish (watch the highlights here).<\/a><\/p>\n Now Prates is setting his sights on the welterweight belt.<\/p>\n \u201cI should be next,\u201d Prates said at the UFC Perth post-fight press conference.<\/a> \u201cNobody beat two former champs in a really good way. They never lost by knockout, and then I come there and make it look easy. All respect to them, they are tough. But against Leon [Edwards], against [Jack Della Maddalena], I made it look easy, and I\u2019m next. Of course you have [Michael] Morales, but Morales didn\u2019t fight a former champ. I fought two former champs, so I will be next.\u201d<\/p>\n The UFC has been known to let fighters jump the line with impressive wins and Prates\u2019 performance in Australia certainly qualifies. But at this point it seems like Islam Makhachev\u2019s next fight is carved in stone. He\u2019s expected to face<\/a> Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330 on August 15th.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have Ian, he\u2019s going to fight now against Makhachev,\u201d Prates admitted. \u201cSo the next [one] is going to be Carlos Prates.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe talk sometimes, and he called me a month and a half ago,\u201d Prates said. \u201cWe were talking about life, the fights, and he said, \u2018Hey brother, you need to beat JDM, then I\u2019m going to beat Islam, and then we can do a rematch in Brazil. It would be amazing.\u2019 I\u2019m not sure if it can happen in Brazil, but of course it would be really cool to fight Islam because he is No. 1 pound-for-pound. Of course, it\u2019s still business to do against Ian. He beat me, and I don\u2019t like that.\u201d<\/p>\n