Carlos Prates' manager says UFC 'a little upset' with Islam Makhachev for 'backing out'

Lucas Lutkus says the UFC told him 'Islam is out' without giving a reason, and that Prates has a guaranteed seven-figure purse even for non-title fights.

Carlos Prates' manager Lucas Lutkus has told MMA Fighting that the UFC was left "a little upset" with Islam Makhachev when the welterweight champion pulled out of their title fight at UFC 336, and he says Makhachev has not explained the decision to the promotion.

"The UFC doesn't know either, and that's why they were a little upset with Islam," Lutkus said. He then gave his version of the UFC's complaint: "He kept telling us he was going to do this the whole time, and now, with three months to go, he's backing out of what we agreed on."

Lutkus said the UFC rang him on 20 October with the news. "The UFC called me last Tuesday and said, 'Islam is out,'" he said. "I asked if it was an injury, and they said Islam hadn't given them a reason. He had only said he wouldn't be ready for January, and they weren't going to break their promise that Carlos' next fight would be for the title, so they would have Carlos fight Morales for the belt."

Makhachev had been emphatic in August, after his title defence against Ireland's Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330 in Philadelphia. "Bro, we have to fight before Ramadan. 100 percent. January, end of the year, I have to fight," he said. He has since said Prates and Michael Morales should fight each other to determine "a true worthy contender". Lutkus said that "doesn't hold up", adding: "I'm not naive enough to think Islam Makhachev is afraid to fight Carlos Prates, but something made him change his mind."

Dana White has confirmed the fight was "verbally agreed to" and, speaking to The Mac Life, said of Makhachev's decision: "I think it's money." Prates has said Makhachev "chickened out".

The switch to Morales does not change what Prates gets paid, according to Lutkus, who would not disclose figures but said it is the highest purse he has negotiated with the UFC as a manager. He said that "based on what we've been able to find out, it's entirely possible that Prates really is the second-highest-paid Brazilian fighter in the UFC, behind only 'Poatan'", meaning Alex Pereira. "If Carlos isn't the second-highest-paid, he's third," he said, adding: "Even for fights that aren't for the title, he has a guaranteed seven-figure purse."

Prates, 33, faces Morales, 19-0, for the interim welterweight title in the co-main event of UFC 336 in Toronto on 30 January. Lutkus expects the unbeaten Ecuadorian to change his game once the punches land. "Leon Edwards is a striker and was forced to wrestle against Carlos. Once Carlos starts landing his punches, everyone becomes a wrestler," he said. "There's no way around it, and I think Morales will become a wrestler too."

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