Prates vs. Morales was announced Saturday afternoon during UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi. Play-by-play announcer Jon Anik said the UFC and Makhachov were working on a UFC 336 fight, but Makhachov said January is too early for a fight. So a skirmish was set up instead.
“On average, Islam fights like once a year,” was clearly outraged Dana White said At the UFC 333 post-fight press conference. “He was appointed for January and then he said I don’t want to fight until Ramadan. You can’t have such divisions. You have to move forward and this fight has meaning.”
Now Makhachov published a video explaining his decision.
“They offered me a fight with Prates, who recently lost (Ian Machado to Garry), who I beat,” Makhatchov said. “If I beat him, Morales would be the next one not fighting and waiting (for a title shot).”
“Just let them fight and we’ll find out who the real challenger is,” he concluded.
Makhachov have often recommended his ice fighting schedule was handled by the UFC, but now it’s where he said he wants to be back before Ramadan but changed his mind after making the offer. The move doesn’t go over well with internet fans who have all kinds of theories, none of them polite, as to why Mak isn’t fighting.
On the plus side, Carlos Prates vs. Michael Morales is a great fight and a good start to 2027, even if it is a continuation of a seemingly endless string of interim and vacant title fights.
