Islam Makhachev and Carlos Prates are set to face off for the welterweight title. Photo: SUPER LUTAS montage.
Still reaping the rewards of his victory against Ian Garry in the main event of UFC 330 , Islam Makhachev does not hide his desire to return to the most famous octagon on the planet as soon as possible. Owner of the belt in one of the most dangerous categories today, the Russian spoke about the candidates to challenge for the welterweight title (up to 77,1 kg) in an interview with 'Ushatayka' last Sunday (13).
According to the fighter, all potential opponents at the top of the rankings represent great challenges, but in different ways. When speaking about the Brazilian, he highlighted the firepower that the fighter from São Paulo possesses, given that all of his victories in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) have come by knockout.
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“Honestly, I put (Prates, Shavkat and Morales) all on the same level. Prates has knockout power, he’s dangerous. Morales himself is very big, and he’s dangerous both grappling and standing. Shavkat too, in terms of overall skill, he’s a very serious opponent.”
Islam Makhachev gave his opinion on the current top welterweights:
"Honestly, I put [Prates, Shavkat and Morales] all on the same level. Prates has striking power he's dangerous. Morales himself is very big, and he's dangerous both in wrestling and on the feet. Shavkat as well,… pic.twitter.com/04S7KEHddB
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) September 13, 2026
Makhachev is not impressed by the category's promise.
Amosov promotes UFC event. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/UFC
Later, he also made it clear that he doesn't see Yaroslav Amosov as an opponent that worries him. The former Bellator champion, the Ukrainian has only one loss as a professional, when he was knocked out by Jason Jackson in November 2023.
“I don’t think (Amosov) is a dangerous opponent. Someone neutralized his grappling, and look what happened. I don’t consider him a dangerous fighter at all. I think one of the most dangerous and serious opponents was my last fight against Ian Garry . And I think he’ll become champion after I’m done being champion,” he concluded.
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