Dana White has defined why the UFC brass determined to e book an interim welterweight title combat.
An interim 170-pound title bout between Carlos Prates and Michael Morales has been introduced for the UFC 336 card on Jan. 30. Simply previous to the reveal, it was reported that talks to have Makhachev put the welterweight gold on the road earlier than Ramadan fell aside. That report turned out to be appropriate.
Through the UFC 333 post-fight presser, White detailed the choice to e book an interim title combat in Toronto. White instructed reporters that the load class merely couldn’t look forward to Makhachev.
“On common, Islam fights like one time a yr,” White stated. “He was slated for January after which stated ‘I don’t wish to combat till after Ramadan.’ You’ll be able to’t maintain up divisions like this. You’ve obtained to maintain transferring and this combat is sensible.”
Prates and Morales had been the highest two names as potential contenders at 170 kilos. Prates was anticipated to fulfill Makhachev in an early 2027 title showdown, however he’ll now attempt to hand Morales the primary lack of his professional MMA profession. The 2 males have traded barbs over the previous few months, and it received’t be lengthy to seek out out who will solidify their contendership with interim gold.
After falling quick in his 2025 conflict with Ian Machado Garry, Prates amassed a three-fight successful streak. “The Nightmare” scored finishes over former UFC welterweight champions Jack Della Maddalena and Leon Edwards, in addition to Geoff Neal.
As for Morales, he final competed again in Nov. 2025. He stopped Sean Brady, who had been largely seen as essentially the most harmful contender on the time. Makhachev has criticized Morales over the previous yr for not being lively sufficient. That is the undefeated star’s probability to show he’s prepared for the large time.
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