Who will Islam Makhachev fight next following his UFC 330 win over Ian Machado Garry? The UFC made it clear that there are two potential contenders. The crowd cam repeatedly switched back and forth between Carlos Prates and Michael Morales, with the commentary team bigging both men up as deserving of a title shot.
At the UFC 330 post-fight press conference, Islam Makhachev asked an obvious question: “Why they not fight on this card to see who is the number one contender?”
Why not, indeed. Possibly because the UFC loves having two contenders around so they can offer the fight to the less picky, less demanding choice. Since that’s a prisoner’s dilemma that leaves both men racing to the bottom, it looks like Michael Morales would rather fight to figure out who the true No. 1 contender is.
⚠️Carlos Prates is a BADASS for confronting Michael Morales like this. pic.twitter.com/IX5HcUjfNQ
— RAMAYAN (@ramayan_69) August 18, 2026
“If the guy have two arms, two legs, one dick like me, bro, I can fight him,” Prates declared regarding Morales’ challenge. “He said I’m scared about him? I’m not scared to fight you, I’m the No. 1 contender so I want to fight for the belt. UFC never offered a fight against you. If they offer me, of course I will knock you out really fast. First round.”
“So don’t worry. You gonna fight and I’m gonna knock you out. But now, wait. Get my belt, and then we can fight.”
“I’m ready to fight,” Morales replied simply. “Just let me know.”
Prates vs. Morales for No. 1 contender status is a sick fight and we’d love to see it. But the timing at this point isn’t great. As Makahchev pointed out, the best time would have been at UFC 330. Now you’d have to book the fight and give both men 3 months to prepare, putting the fight in December. Three months after that and you’ve got Ramadan, and Makhachev doesn’t fight or even train during Ramadan.
The best consolation prize for no Prates vs. Morales is having Makhachev fight more often. The two-division champion has often said he’s not the one delaying fights, and that he’d like to fight more than once every 9 to 12 months. Well then, let’s see him fight Prates in December or January and Morales in June.
Let’s just quit it with the non-fighting, though. If Morales wants to hold his top spot, let’s see him fight again in the meantime, too.