Carlos Prates does not believe Conor McGregor ever seriously agreed to fight him, and he has a straightforward explanation for why the rumored matchup was never going to happen.
Reports surfaced earlier this year suggesting McGregor had accepted a fight against Prates before the UFC moved away from the idea. Prates addressed those claims in an interview with Nicolas Henrique, making clear he never took the speculation seriously from the moment he heard it.
“The only thing that I heard from Conor was that my name was there, and nobody knew if he would accept it or not,” Prates said. “It’s something I didn’t get my hopes up for because I already knew it was a fight that wasn’t going to happen.”
The 32-year-old laid out the logic from McGregor’s perspective in simple terms, arguing there was never a compelling reason for a five-year inactive fighter to take such a significant risk against someone with his finishing record.
“I’m a guy who’s been knocking everyone out, and the guy has been inactive for five years. There’s no reason for him to come fight. I’ve never been a champion. I’m not close to him. I’m nobody, man. There’s no reason for him to come take such a big risk,” Prates said. “I knew that the fight was very difficult to happen. It was difficult for him to accept. There were rumors saying he accepted, but I don’t believe it. If he had accepted, the UFC would have made the fight happen.”
Prates turns his attention to a more realistic title opportunity this weekend when he faces former welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena at UFC Perth on Saturday in Australia. A victory would position him for a shot at Islam Makhachev, who is expected to defend his welterweight championship at UFC 330 on August 15 against either Ian Machado Garry or Michael Morales.
Prates confirmed he plans to attend UFC 330 in Philadelphia regardless of who Makhachev faces.
“Regardless of who it is, I’ll be there in the front row, keeping an eye on my title. I’ll be there to challenge the champion.”