Carlos Prates has given his thoughts on who could be next for UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev.
As we know, Islam Makhachev is the number one pound for pound fighter in mixed martial arts today. He is the current UFC welterweight champion, and he is ready to take on any challengers that come his way. While we don’t know exactly how much longer he’s got left as an active competitor in the sport, his immediate future looks pretty bright.
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In terms of who comes next, it’s not quite clear. Makhachev has made it clear that he wants to go up against Kamaru Usman, but there’s also the possibility of Ilia Topuria moving up from 155 pounds. Then, you have an outside contender like Michael Morales, who is on fire right now at 170.
In a recent interview, Carlos Prates weighed in on who he believes could be next up for Makhachev.
Prates’ view on Makhachev’s future
“I think it’s going to happen because if Kamaru is not fighting against Islam, probably they’re going to put Morales because they started to trash talk and things like that,” Prates said in an interview with MMA Today. I’m really down to fight Jack Della Maddalena or Morales, but I think Morales is going to fight for the belt. I don’t know what’s happening with Kamaru. I don’t know if he got an injury or something like that. I want to fight JDM.”
Quotes via MMA Junkie
What do you believe should be next for Islam Makhachev? How many more fights will he have in the welterweight division before hanging up his gloves once and for all? Let us know your thoughts on this and his career as a whole in the comments, BJPENN Nation!