UFC Fight Night 247 took place at the UFC Apex Arena on Nov. 9 2024, and featured Welter weight contenders Neil Magny and Carlos Prates. As Round one began with Magny going for a grapple that pushed Prates to the fence. Prates using the fence pushed Magny to the ground landing on top of him, Magny leveraged the situation by locking Prates in a hold. Both fighters landed several strikes before Prates slipped free and sprang back to his feet. Magny getting back on his feet did not relent as he forced Prates back to the fence where he struggled in vain to take down Prates.
Both contenders broke away from the fence and traded blows. Magny repeatedly went for holds but Prates proved too elusive ending one of Magny’s attempts with an elbow that knocked him down. Magny stood up and looked wobbly after taking Prates’s elbow to his face. Prates advanced, not letting up the pressure as he forced Magny back to the fence, resisting each attempt at a hold. Prates ended the match with a clean strike to Magny’s head followed up by another that skimmed the top of Magny’s head, knocking him nearly unconscious. As the fight wound to a close Prates gave a statement on his career in the UFC simply saying: “This year so far was the best of my life and career.” Prates continued “To be honest, I think the perfect next fight for me would be in Australia. I have a daughter there and I’d love to see her. I’d like to fight Jack Della Maddalena next. I think I’d also be a good fight against Geoff Neal.”
Despite his high spirits post fight Prates later addressed fans who were skeptical of the fight’s end, some insinuating Magny “took a dive”, or in plain terms, threw the fight. Prates addressing these skeptics he said “I think they should come here and let me give a punch on his head.” He also added “On the head is different on the face. On the face you get a little bit dizzy. But on the head, you cut your legs and don’t feel nothing and then you come back. So, I think people talking shit, they should come here and let me hit his head and then they’ll talk after.” Prates later discussed his future moving upwards in the UFC, detailing his next possible match ups, “To be honest, I think the best option would be against Jack Della Maddalena, but you have the rank. I think he’s No. 4 and probably next Tuesday I will be 15. So, I don’t know if he’s going to accept the fight. Also, if the UFC is going to do that fight, if they think it’s interesting or something like that. But if it’s so far and the UFC and Jack Della Maddalena don’t agree with that fight, I would be happy fighting against Geoff Neal probably would be cool.” Prates’ trajectory upwards in the UFC looks like it will place him at no. 15 usurping Magny, and it prates plans to move forward from the number 15 spot towards the top 10.
