Carlos Prates Says Islam Makhachev "Chickened Out" of UFC 336 Defense

Carlos Prates says he was already studying Islam Makhachev and training for a welterweight title fight when the UFC changed course. He did not soften his reaction.

In an interview with Brazilian reporter Laerte Viana posted Monday, Prates accused Makhachev of backing away from a planned UFC 336 defense. "He chickened out," Prates said through the video's English transcript. He now faces Michael Morales for the interim belt on January 30 in Toronto.

That is Prates' account of how the matchup changed. The UFC's official event page confirms Prates-Morales as the interim-title co-main event, but it does not say why Makhachev is absent.

Prates says the camp had started

Prates told Viana he had begun breaking down Makhachev's game before he received word that the champion would not fight in January. He said the date had been reserved for Makhachev and described himself as "pretty pissed" when the matchup disappeared.

The frustration is easy to understand. Prates has spent 17 years in the sport, and this was the undisputed title opportunity he had been chasing. Instead, he has another contender between him and the champion.

Prates also claimed UFC officials were unhappy with the change. That part has not been independently confirmed by the promotion. UFC CEO Dana White previously said the division needed to keep moving, but neither the official UFC 336 listing nor Makhachev's public explanation supports every detail of Prates' version.

Makhachev wants one clear challenger

Makhachev has given a different reason for waiting. He said Prates and Morales should fight to establish a clear number-one contender, then promised to face the winner. His argument is that Prates lost to Ian Machado Garry, whom Makhachev later beat, while Morales was also waiting for a title shot.

The champion wrote last week that his next appearance would be "one of the last" fights of his career. He wants the tougher of the two unbeaten UFC runs in front of him, not two separate defenses against contenders whose claims overlap.

Prates sees that logic as a dodge. He is 7-1 in the UFC, and all seven wins ended by knockout or technical knockout. His only UFC loss was a five-round decision against Garry. Since then, he has stopped Geoff Neal, Leon Edwards and Jack Della Maddalena.

Morales is now the only fight that matters

Morales is not a consolation prize. The 27-year-old Ecuadorian is 19-0, with seven UFC victories and 14 knockouts overall. The UFC lists him directly behind Prates in the UFC 336 interim-title bout, and his size, reach and power give the fight real danger on both sides.

Prates acknowledged as much. He told Viana that Morales was the opponent who made sense once Makhachev declined the January date. The anger is aimed at the champion, but the assignment in front of him is an unbeaten finisher who has never needed a comeback.

For now, the argument has one clean way forward. Prates must beat Morales on January 30. If he does, Makhachev will have the contender he asked for, and Prates will finally have a belt plus a much louder case that the undisputed champion cannot ignore.