Daniel Cormier believes the UFC may need to rethink its welterweight title plans after Carlos Prates’ breakout performance. While Islam Makhachev appears to be preparing for a fight with Ian Machado Garry, Cormier argued that Prates’ emphatic win over Jack Della Maddalena has changed the conversation.
According to Cormier, Makhachev had already started camp with Garry looking like the likely challenger. But after what Prates did to Della Maddalena, the former UFC champion says few would complain if the Brazilian jumped the line instead.
“Islam recently announced the start of his training camp, and it looks like Ian Garry is supposed to be his next opponent. But if they give him Carlos Prates after a performance like that, nobody in the world is going to object,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “The reason is simple. We just recently saw Islam clearly beat Jack Della Maddalena and win the championship belt. But even that dominant win from Makhachev doesn’t compare to what Prates showed. The Brazilian’s performance was truly impressive and, most importantly, it looked incredibly easy. It was absolute madness. It felt like Della Maddalena simply wasn’t on Prates’ level. A complete and total dismantling.”