Michael Chiesa would like to see Carlos Prates go through one more former champion before getting a title shot.
Prates (23-7 MMA, 6-1 UFC) entered the title conversation after sparking ex-welterweight champion Leon Edwards at UFC 322 this past Saturday in New York. Prates called for a shot at newly crowned champion Islam Makhachev, who claimed the belt in the main event after dominating Jack Della Maddalena.
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However, Chiesa thinks the Brazilian isn’t quite ready just yet. He’d like him to beat Della Maddalena (18-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) first to become undeniable.
“It’s a no-brainer: You do JDM (Della Maddalena) and Prates,” Chiesa told MMA Junkie. “JDM’s going to want to get himself back into a title fight as every champion would. You lose your belt, you’re going to want it right back. You’re not going to give him that immediate title fight. Prates, there’s some meat on the bone, and sometimes you want to give a guy like Prates stylistically favorable fights to get him in that title fight because he has so much pull with the fans.
“You’re like, let’s give him a guy who’s obviously elite, a former world champion, much like Leon was. Then it’s like if you can go out and beat JDM, who was just the champion, and now it’s like three wins in a row, two former champs, boom! You just punched your ticket. That’s a main event on a Fight Night, that’s a five-round co-main event on a pay-per-view. If they make that fight, I will go out and say it right now: That would be one of the, if not the best, most exciting fights or finishes that we will see in 2026. That’s the fight to make. That’s Prates’ ticket to the title fight.”
Prates became the first fighter to knock out Edwards. Prior to that, he scored a highlight-reel spinning back elbow knockout of Geoff Neal at UFC 319. His lone octagon loss came in a main event against Ian Machado Garry, who faces Belal Muhammad in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 265 co-headliner in Qatar.
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To hear more from Chiesa on the welterweight division, check out his complete appearances on “The Bohnfire” podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn above.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC analyst suggests ‘no-brainer’ fight for Carlos Prates next
