Islam Makhachev reveals why he turned down January fight with Carlos Prates

Islam Makhachev has spoken up about why he’s not fighting Carlos Prates in January.

For the last few weeks, the MMA world has been flooded with rumors that Makhachev would defend his welterweight title against Prates at UFC 336 in January; however, on Saturday, the UFC announced that those rumors are untrue. Instead, Prates will take on Michael Morales for an interim welterweight title at UFC 336, with the winner unifying against Makhachev sometime next year.

UFC CEO Dana White said that, ultimately, Makhachev decided he didn’t want to fight until after Ramadan, and on Sunday, speaking with pound4padel.ru, Makhachev spoke about what happened and why he’s not fighting Prates next.

“Prates and Morales will fight, determine who a true worthy contender, and I will fight [the winner]. They will [fight] among themselves. …

“They offered me a fight with Prates, who recently lost to a [Ian Machado Garry] who I beat. If I beat him, Morales would already be next in line, who’s not fighting and waiting for [a title shot]. Just let them fight and we will figure out who is the real challenger.”

Ramadan begins on Feb. 7 and concludes on March 8 in 2027, meaning it is unlikely we will see Makhachev again until next summer.