Carlos Prates says Islam Makhachev is not ducking him, just "a little bit lazy"

Asked at the UFC 335 and UFC 336 press conference whether the champion is ducking him, Prates said Makhachev may have enjoyed his holidays after beating Ian Machado Garry and then fancied a later fight.

Carlos Prates has said Islam Makhachev is not ducking him, just "a little bit lazy". A reporter at the UFC 335 and UFC 336 press conference in New York noted that Prates was originally expected to fight Makhachev before the welterweight champion changed his mind, and asked whether he felt Makhachev was ducking him.

"To be honest, no," Prates said. "I think maybe he's a little bit lazy, you know, to make a new fight camp."

Prates said Makhachev may have been resting after beating Ian Machado Garry. "Maybe he was enjoying his holidays," he said, and Makhachev "thought like, ah, I need to make the fight camp. I'm a little bit lazy. Let's fight after Ramadan."

Makhachev beat Garry by unanimous decision at UFC 330 in Philadelphia in August. After that win he said he had to fight before Ramadan, according to our report on Prates' manager, and Dana White has said the fight with Prates was verbally agreed before Makhachev pulled out.

The line is a lighter one than Prates used earlier this month, when he said Makhachev had chickened out of the 30 January date and promised to beat him harder when they do meet. Prates now faces Michael Morales, 19-0, for the interim welterweight title at UFC 336 in Toronto.

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