Carlos Prates is back in a big way.
After a disappointing loss in his last outing against Ian Machado Garry, the Fighting Nerds welterweight sent quite a message to the rest of the division at UFC 319 after the flattened Geoff Neal with a brutal spinning back elbow knockout at the close of the first round.
Prates already damaged Neal’s eye with repeated blows but then out of nowhere, he uncorked the finishing shot that ended the fight at 4:59 in the opening round. He then called his shot for a chance to fight at home in Brazil when the UFC returns there in October.
“I’m feeling amazing,” Prates said after the win. “Tomorrow will be my birthday, please give me a fight in Brazil. $50K bonus, let’s go, let’s party. I think the co-main event in Rio should be Carlos Prates vs. Leon Edwards. The time is now.”
Prates didn’t have to wait long for his answer with UFC CEO Dana White confirming during the broadcast that he would award the Brazilian with a $50,000 bonus and a slot on the UFC Rio card, although the opponent is still to be determined.
Before all that unfolded, Prates first had to deal with Neal and the welterweights were both ready to bang in this highly anticipated showdown. Neil opned the fight by connecting on a couple of stiff boxing combinations and Prates coming back at him with some stiff leg kicks.
Neal was constantly looking to close the distance and then unloading his punches, which caught Prates several times in the opening round.
Prates countered by dancing away and then unleashing some dynamic kicks that continued to find a home with the damage starting to mount on Neal. Significant swelling under Neal’s eye started forming and he was slowing down as time passed.
Prates just kept dishing out the punishment until he exploded forward with the spinning back elbow that absolutely clubbed Neal on the side of the head and sent him crashing to the canvas in a heap. The fight was stopped immediately as Neal showed a sizable gash from the elbow landed by Prates.
It was an incredibly impressive showing for Prates as he becomes the first fighter to finish Neal by strikes in the UFC and he jumps right back into the deep end of the welterweight division. He’s now calling his shot with hopes of facing a former champion in Edwards with the UFC already promising him as lot on the card in Rio.