Outside Source
Ian Garry is expected to receive the next UFC welterweight title shot. | Getty/UFC
The Fighting Nerds coach Pablo Sucupira doesn’t think Carlos Prates needs to be overly patient for a UFC welterweight title shot.
Last week in an interview with Daniel Cormier on the “Pound 4 Pound” podcast, Prates said that if the UFC required him to have one more fight before competing for the welterweight title, he would choose Michael Morales. In an exclusive interview with Sherdog.com on Monday, Sucupira disagreed with his pupil.
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“Prates knocked out two former champions in a row who had never been knocked out in the organization,” Sucupira said. “After what he did in Australia, at [Jack Della] Maddalena’s house, and the way he did it, I think the title fight is the next step. Makhachev and Garry should fight in August. We expect him to fight the winner by the end of the year.” .
In the view of the Fighting Nerds leader, the Irishman has everything to be the most difficult challenge of the champion’s career.
“One thing people don’t realize is that there’s a big physical disparity in this division,” Sucupira said. “There are fighters at 170 pounds who could fight at 155 pounds, but there are others who could fight at 185 pounds. Maddalena, for example, isn’t a big 170 pounds, while Garry is very big. Prates, who looked big in front of JDM, looked small in front of Garry. Garry is much bigger than Islam.”
Sucupira pointed to Garry’s style as another complicating factor for the champion.
“Unlike Maddalena, Garry doesn’t load up on his strikes. He uses his lead hand very well to control distance and angles a lot,” the caoch said. “It’s not easy to take him down and keep him on the bottom. In my opinion, he has the right game to beat Makhachev.”
Title Rematch in Brazil?
Sucupira acknowledges that Makhachev is an exceptional fighter.
“He’s not No. 1 pound-for-pound by chance,” Sucupira said. “But this fight will be the biggest challenge of his career and will show how phenomenal Islam really is.”
The coach also acknowledges that his heart might be influencing his analysis of the Makhachev-Garry matchup.
“Without a doubt, Prates and Garry would be a much more interesting fight for the fans,” he said. “And the two agreed to have this rematch for the belt in Brazil. Imagine how amazing it would be.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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