Daniel Cormier praised Carlos Prates for his dominant victory over Jack Della Maddalena at UFC Perth, suggesting he deserves a title shot. Prates has now defeated two former champions, positioning himself as a contender in the welterweight division.
Key points
Daniel Cormier praised Carlos Prates' performance at UFC Perth.
Prates defeated Jack Della Maddalena by third-round stoppage.
He has now defeated two former champions in a row.
Cormier suggests Prates is a title contender at 170 pounds.
Islam Makhachev is the current welterweight champion.
Carlos PratesJack Della MaddalenaIslam MakhachevUFC Fight Night
PERTH, AUSTRALIA - MAY 02: Carlos Prates of Brazil reacts after a victory against Jack Della Maddalena of Australia in a welterweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at RAC Arena on May 02, 2026 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC)
PERTH, AUSTRALIA - MAY 02: Carlos Prates of Brazil reacts after a victory against Jack Della Maddalena of Australia in a welterweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at RAC Arena on May 02, 2026 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC)
Daniel Cormier could not have been more impressed by Carlos Prates this past weekend.
On Saturday, Prates delivered the best performance of his MMA career, dominating former welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena en route to a third-round stoppage in the main event of UFC Perth. That now makes two former champions that Prates has demolished in a row, and according to Cormier, it put Prates in the thick of the title mix at 170 pounds.
“Carlos Prates has now put himself on the short-list of fighters who could potentially challenge the champion, Islam Makhachev,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel.
“Before he goes in there with Jack Della Maddalena, that happens when you’ve already got a victory over Leon Edwards, when you already have beaten guys like Geoff Neal and so many others on your way towards a fight with a former champion, Jack Della; he’s on a short list. He’s already close.
“You beat the former champion in the way that he beat Della Maddalena – because that was bad. That was bad. Honestly, when I was watching that from afar, I thought to myself — because I’ve never seen Jack just get beat on like that — ‘How does Prates win?’ going into the fight. I thought Jack Della Maddalena had a style that would create some real issues for Prates. No issues at all for Carlos.“
Prates joined the UFC in 2024 from Contender Series and immediately made a splash, earning knockouts and Performance bonuses in his first four fights. He then lost a unanimous decision to Ian Machado Garry last April, setting him back a bit. Since then, though, Prates has returned to his destructive form, scoring three more knockouts and three more Performance bonuses. But this is the one that really made Cormier stand up and take notice.
Q&A
What did Daniel Cormier say about Carlos Prates' performance?
Daniel Cormier expressed that Carlos Prates delivered the best performance of his MMA career, dominating Jack Della Maddalena.
Who did Carlos Prates defeat at UFC Perth?
Carlos Prates defeated former welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena by third-round stoppage at UFC Perth.
How many former champions has Carlos Prates defeated recently?
Carlos Prates has defeated two former champions in his last two fights.
Is Carlos Prates a contender for the welterweight title?
Yes, Daniel Cormier believes Carlos Prates is now on the short-list of fighters who could challenge the welterweight champion, Islam Makhachev.
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“That performance told me two things: One, Prates is ready to compete for the UFC championship. Two, Prates learned. Prates learned,” Cormier said.
“We look at these fighters, old ones, young ones, and when they hit the main event scene, they have to prove to themself and they have to prove to people that they’re absolutely ready to, one, not only carry a card, but compete under the spotlight of a main event. It’s not the same to be fighting on a card, and then walking last, or walking second to last, knowing everybody in the building is there to watch you fight.
“The first time Prates did that, against Ian Garry, he froze. He froze. He did not fight well, and Ian Garry’s an absolute stud. I don’t care what you think of him. … Ian Garry’s an absolute stud, but in that fight, Carlos looked like he just wasn’t ready. We had him smoking cigarettes all over the internet the week of the fight – all these things that just didn’t seem like he was ready for the spotlight the main event carries. Not this time, though. …
“I watched him deliver at a level that tells me he’s championship-ready. Dude’s championship-ready. He’s championship-ready right now.”
Prates certainly agrees, making his case for a welterweight title shot following his win on Saturday. Unfortunately, there are several other contenders lined up at welterweight right now, including the man who beat him, Garry. And while Cormier believes Garry still has the inside track to challenge Islam Makhchev next, he’s also not discounting Prates from sneaking into a title shot.
“Here’s the issuethough: The weight class is so stacked,” Cormier said.
“It feels like it’s going to be Ian Garry, but if it was to be Prates after that? Nobody would complain. Nobody would complain, and I’ll tell you why: We just saw Islam beat Jack Della Maddalena in the way that he did. We saw him dominate Jack Della Maddalena to win the championship. The way Islam beat Jack was not nearly as impressive as what Carlos Prates did the other day.
“It was impressive. He made it look easy. But that, yesterday, was crazy. It looked like Della Maddalena didn’t belong in there with Prates.”
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UFC Perth Post Show.
UFC Perth highlights.
UFC 328 Countdown.
PFL Sioux Falls highlights.
Submission Radio Morning After.
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FINAL THOUGHTS
I think it would be very silly for Prates to either get the next welterweight title shot or wait. There’s too much going on at 170 right now. If Garry is up next, that’s fine. But Bonfim is about to fight Belal, Malott just got a big win, Brady and Buckley are fighting, Kamaru is still hanging around, and one day Shavkat Rakhmonov’s knees might work again. Plus, there’s the looming specter of Ilia Topuria wasting everyone’s time with a nonsense welterweight title shot.
Prates is going to have to fight again, and he should fight Michael Morales because that would be the best.
