New York, NY — Carlos Prates knows the history of Madison Square Garden, where he’ll fight former welterweight champ Leon “Rocky” Edwards this Saturday, well.
“A lot of idols fought here: Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson. It’s going to be a huge honor for me, fighting in Madison Square Garden,” Brazil’s Prates (22-7) said during Wednesday’s UFC 322 media day.
Speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press, Prates touched on just why the UFC promotional machine has gotten behind him. That included a red carpet appearance earlier this week in NYC.
“I think it’s because of the entertainment I bring to the people. My fight style,” Prates suggested.
Some of Prates recent opponents have been grapplers, or at least fallen back on their grappling once facing the Brazilian. He’s expected a repeat performance come Saturday with Edwards.
“I think Leon’s gonna be a grappler also. He’s really good, but also, he’s good to keep the fight [in a] boring way,” stated Prates. “He don’t do too [many] things, but he does basic things really well. So I need to take care about that.”
“I think he’s gonna become a grappler also.”
Coming off a win over Geoff Neal after a loss to Ian Machado Garry, Prates knows a number of welterweight contenders are in action coming up. He believes, however, that he can skip the line with the right performance.
“To be honest, I think if I finish the fight with a really good knockout, I’m gonna be next for the title,” he stated. When it was pointed out that names like ex-champ Kamaru Usman were vying for a title fight, Prates allowed that “Kamaru is the GOAT, but I don’t know, I think it’s my time. I think if I knock Leon out in a really good way, I’m going to be the next [challenger for the UFC welterweight championship].”
As to who he would face, with champ Jack Della Maddalena facing Islam Makhachev in the UFC 322 main event? “I think Jack.”
Watch the full UFC 322 media day appearance by Carlos Prates above.
