Carlos Prates mocks Islam Makhachev with his own 'NEVER' wall quote and lying-face emojis
The Brazilian put the champion's UFC Performance Institute line on his Instagram Story over 'Don't Lie' after Makhachev pulled out of their UFC 336 fight.
Carlos Prates has turned Islam Makhachev's own words on him, posting the UFC welterweight champion's wall quote from the UFC Performance Institute on his Instagram Story with three lying-face emojis.
Prates put up a screenshot of the line on Wednesday, tagged Makhachev and set it to "Don't Lie" by The Black Eyed Peas.
The quote, on the wall at the Las Vegas facility, reads: "What does this title represent? It means you are the best in the world. And if you are the best in the world, it doesn't matter who is going to be there across from you. What could I say? No? NEVER. Let's do this!"
Makhachev first said it in October 2023, when he accepted a short-notice fight with Alexander Volkanovski, who replaced Charles Oliveira at UFC 294. He repeated it on social media when Arman Tsarukyan withdrew from UFC 311 through injury and Renato Moicano stepped in on weigh-in day.
This time Makhachev withdrew after verbally agreeing to face Prates at UFC 336 on 30 January. He has said he turned the fight down because Prates had recently lost to Ireland's Ian Machado Garry, a fighter Makhachev has already beaten. UFC CEO Dana White has told The Mac Life he sees another reason: "I think it's money."
Prates has already said Makhachev "chickened out" and promised to "beat Makhachev twice as hard". He faces Michael Morales, 19-0, for the interim welterweight title in the co-main event of UFC 336 in Toronto, with Joshua Van defending the flyweight title against Manel Kape in the main event. The winner of Prates v Morales is expected to face Makhachev in a title unification fight in summer 2027.
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