Carlos Prates says Islam Makhachev 'chickened out', vows to beat him 'twice as hard'
Prates says he was "pretty pissed off" after losing a 30 January title shot. He must now get past unbeaten Michael Morales for the interim belt at UFC 336.
Carlos Prates says Islam Makhachev "chickened out" of defending the welterweight title against him, and has promised to "beat Makhachev twice as hard just to teach him a lesson and make him stop being such a p*ssy".
Prates was already "studying and training" to challenge Makhachev on 30 January when the UFC called to tell him about a change of plans, MMA Fighting reported.
"He comes out saying he wants to be an active champion, this and that," Prates told Laerte Viana. "Hunter [Campbell] even said that date was reserved for him. Then he just came out and said he didn't want it. He chickened out."
He continued: "I was pretty pissed off, but what can you do? The situation I'm in now is that I have to beat Morales and win the interim belt. I'm going to focus on him, then I'm going to come back and beat Makhachev twice as hard just to teach him a lesson and make him stop being such a p*ssy."
Prates added: "I've been in this game for 17 years, and when it finally came time for me to fulfill my dream of becoming a champion, this dude pulls some bullsh*t like that. I was really pissed off. Now Morales is going to pay the price [laughs], and then I'm going to get him, because he acted like a f*cking a**hole with this b*tch-ass attitude."
Prates, who is 7-1 in the UFC, faces Morales, 19-0, for the interim title in the co-main event of UFC 336. Flyweight champion Joshua Van defends against Manel Kape in the main event at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
The row has been building since the card was announced. Prates has already called Makhachev a coward and vowed to retire him, and told the champion's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, "I will finish his legacy".
Prates' version is not the only one. Makhachev said he turned the fight down because Prates had recently lost to Ireland's Ian Machado Garry, a fighter he has already beaten, while UFC CEO Dana White said Makhachev did not want to fight until after Ramadan.
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