UFC president Dana White said the promotion booked Carlos Prates vs. Michael Morales for Jan. 30 in Toronto because “you can’t hold up divisions like this.”
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UFC president and CEO Dana White addressed why Carlos Prates will fight Michael Morales for an interim welterweight title on Jan. 30 in Toronto at UFC 336, with champion Islam Makhachev not included on that card.
White said the plan was for Makhachev to be fighting on the Jan. 30 show, noting, “Islam, on average, fights once a year. He was slated for January and then said, ‘I don’t want to fight until after Ramadan.’ You can’t hold up divisions like this. You gotta keep moving and this fight makes sense.”
White said Makhachev did not specify why he wanted to delay his comeback until after Ramadan, which begins in February and runs through the beginning of March.
Makhachev defended the welterweight title in August against Ian Machado Garry, and the UFC fight scheduled for Jan. 30 is the lone UFC Octagon appearance for him this year, after he fought twice in 2025—against Renato Moicano in January and Jack Della Maddalena in November, when he claimed the welterweight crown.
Prates, meanwhile, has posted a 7-1 record in the UFC since his 2024 debut, with his lone loss coming against Garry. Prates reacted publicly to the situation on social media, writing: “I’ve been working for my dream to be a champion at 17 years old, and now you postponed it. I’m number 11, I knocked out two former champions while Morales only beat Sean Brady.”
Prates added: “You told UFC you won’t be ready to fight in three months. Bro, you don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t party and you can’t prepare for a fight in three months? Let me show you how it’s done. Jan. 30, I’ll knockout Michael Morales, and then I’ll come back to retire you.”
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