A matchup between surging welterweight contender Carlos Prates and former UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards could be on the horizon following a not-so-cryptic social media post by “The Nightmare.”
The past year has been tremendous for Prates and if it wasn’t for the dominance by UFC champions Alex Pereira and Ilia Topuria the Brazilian contender may have walked away with 2024 Fighter of the Year honors. That’s because he’s gone 4-0 in 2024 with four knockouts, four performance of the night awards, his first UFC main event bid, and an eventual No. 13-ranking in the ultra-stacked welterweight division.
With incredible success inside of the Octagon over the past 12 months Prates is lining himself up to contend for the 170-pound belt in 2025. It seems crazy considering Prates only made his UFC debut this past February, but next year could be a big year for the Brazilian fighter. It will be especially big if Prates is able to land a matchup with Edwards, which he teased in the below social media post on Thursday:
In case you forgot, Edwards hasn’t competed since losing his title to Belal Muhammad at UFC 304 in Manchester, England. It was the third time “Rocky” was defending the title since winning it off Kamaru Usman back in Aug. 2022. Despite the homefield advantage, Edwards looked completely out of sorts at UFC 304 and allowed Muhammad to walk out of England with the title. Fight fans have been waiting for the return of “Rocky” ever since.
While there may be some other attractive matchups for Edwards at 170 pounds a meeting against Prates might be the best-case scenario for the promotion. It gives Prates the big-time name he needs to break into the top 5 while allowing Edwards the opportunity to knock off a hungry up-and-coming contender to prove he’s still a top threat.
We’ll see if UFC is able to close the deal and book Prates vs. Edwards next.
