Kamaru Usman Makes It Clear Why Carlos Prates Fight Doesn’t Interest Him
The UFC welterweight picture took a turn during a recent Pound 4 Pound Show conversation, with Henry Cejudo offering a matchmaking idea that Kamaru Usman quickly shut down. Cejudo sees a route back to 170 pounds for his co-host, while Usman has a very different threshold for taking on Carlos Prates.
Kamaru Usman Makes It Clear Why He Shut Down UFC Return To 170 Pounds
Cejudo argued that Usman should return to the division he once ruled and face the Brazilian contender. “I think you should go back down to 170 pounds and fight the No. 1 contender, Carlos Prates,” Cejudo said.
Usman was direct in response. The former welterweight champion said he would entertain a meeting with Prates only if UFC gold were on the line. “I’m only interested in that fight if it’s for the title,” Usman said. “And I guess there’s also that little voice inside me saying, ‘I’m not trying to get beat up by that guy if it’s not for the title anyway.'”
Prates has become one of the division’s most dangerous finishers since joining the UFC. He rebounded from a decision loss to Ian Machado Garry by stopping Geoff Neal with a spinning back elbow at 4:59 of the first round at UFC 319, improving to 7-1 in the promotion, earning TKO wins over former champions Jack Della Maddalena and Leon Edwards.
Usman knows the 170-pound limit well. He won and defended the UFC welterweight title after repeatedly making championship weight at 170 pounds, including title fights with Jorge Masvidal, Gilbert Burns and Colby Covington.
The Nigerian Nightmare’s stance comes after his recent middleweight main-event loss to former champion Dricus Du Plessis, a result that left the former welterweight king weighing his next move. Rather than taking a risky return bout at 170 pounds against Prates, Usman appears focused on a path that leads straight back to a title opportunity.
That path, in his view, would be a meeting with welterweight champion Islam Makhachev. Usman has made it clear that he would cut back down to 170 pounds for that fight, though UFC officials have already ruled out the matchup.
Prates remains an attractive name for contenders chasing attention, but Usman is looking at the division through a title-fight lens. For now, the former champion is not interested in serving as the next test for a rising knockout artist without a championship payoff waiting on the other side.
