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Carlos Prates has harsh words for fans who believe Neil Magny didn’t give it his all.

On Saturday night, Prates faced Magny in the main event of UFC Vegas 100, knocking out the longtime UFC veteran at the end of the first round. It was the fourth finish of Prates’s 2024 campaign, and earned him his fourth performance bonus of the year, but the finish was not without some detractors.

Though Prates dropped Magny early in the round, the finishing blow that face-planted “The Haitian Sensation” was a curious little left hook that seemed to clip Magny’s temple instead of land flush like many fans have come to expect with such knockouts. As a result, some fans took to social media to question Magny’s willingness to fight, even suggesting Magny took a dive. But Prates has no time for that nonsense.

“I think they should come here and let me give a punch on his head,” Prates said in his post-fight scrum. “Then after they can talk.

“You know when I fought Li Jingliang? It was the same the first knockdown. I hit his head and then he goes down. I think Neil Magny was the same. I train a lot of boxing, many times. Maybe four times per week. Bro, my hand, when I punch you, no matter how or where, you’re going to get hurt.

“On the head is different on the face. On the face you get a little bit dizzy. But on the head you cut your legs and don’t feel nothing and then you come back. So I think people talking shit, they should come here and let me hit his head and then they’ll talk after.”

Magny currently holds a number of UFC divisional records including most fights, wins, strikes, and decisions in UFC welterweight history. His 34 fights in the promotion make him tied with Jeremy Stephens at sixth-most fights all-time in the UFC. So given his long history with the UFC and numerous accolades, it’s fair for Prates to give little credence to the idea that Magny simply wanted out.

What Prates does give credence to is where he goes from here. Magny is currently ranked No. 15 in the UFC welterweight rankings, meaning Prates is likely to take his spot when those update this coming week. Soon to be a ranked fighter in just his first year with the promotion, Prates now hopes he can keep this rapid upward momentum with a fight against No. 4-ranked contender Jack Della Maddalena when the UFC heads to Maddalena’s home country of Australia in February for UFC 312.

“To be honest, I think the best option would be against Jack Della Maddalena, but you have the rank,” Prates said. “I think he’s No. 4 and probably next Tuesday I will be 15. So I don’t know if he’s going to accept the fight. Also, if the UFC is going to do that fight, if they think it’s interesting or something like that. But if it’s so far and the UFC and Jack Della Maddalena don’t agree with that fight, I would be happy fighting against Geoff Neal probably would be cool.”

And if neither of those work out, that’s fine too. For Prates, even making this far is already a dream, and one that is quickly changing his life.

“It’s a dream,” Prates said about his incredible 2024 run. “A few years ago — not a few years ago, I think two years ago, one year and a half I was fighting for maybe $ 200. Now I’m doing a lot of money. It’s a dream. I worked hard for this for many years and I’m really happy.”

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When Stipe Miocic suffered a knockout loss to Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 back in 2021, he thought a trilogy fight was inevitable.

Considering Miocic manhandled Ngannou in their first encounter three years earlier, it wasn’t a shocking request that he would get the rubber match to settle the trilogy. Unfortunately for Miocic, Ngannou ended up facing Ciryl Gane instead nine months later, aggravated a knee injury in the process and then sat out to recover from surgery before entering free agency.

In the end, Ngannou surrendered the UFC heavyweight title and opted to sign with the PFL while also crossing over to boxing for a pair of fights against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.

“I was trying. I was trying to get the rematch,” Miocic said about pursuing the Ngannou trilogy when speaking to MMA Fighting. “Then he left and it didn’t happen unfortunately.

“Listen, I’m a fighter. I don’t work for the UFC internally and [figuring] out matchmaking. It’s what they wanted to do and it’s what they did.”

As much as Miocic wanted that third fight against Ngannou, he can’t fault the former UFC heavyweight champion for opting to take a deal that would allow him to live out his dream in the boxing ring and get paid a whole lot of money to do it.

“Yeah of course [I was bummed] because I wanted the rubber match,” Miocic said. “But also at the same point, he’s doing better for himself and his family. I’m not mad at him. He’s doing great.”

In his two fights crossing over to boxing, Ngannou took Fury to a razor-close decision loss after scoring a shocking knockdown on the former heavyweight champion. Things didn’t go as well against Joshua after Ngannou suffered a pair of knockdowns before being finished with a vicious punch in the second round.

Miocic, a Golden Gloves boxer in his youth, admits he didn’t watch both of Ngannou’s fights, but he was still proud to see his former rival getting the chance to compete against two of the best heavyweights in the sport.

“I saw clips of it,” Miocic said about the boxing matches. “The first one he did well with Fury and unfortunately the second one didn’t go well with Joshua. But it happens. It’s fighting, anything can happen.

“Some people said he won [against Fury]. I didn’t see the whole fight but a lot of people said he won the fight. He put him down. He did a lot of things. Listen, he convinced that many people that he could [beat him]. Shows that we can hang.”

Ngannou returned to MMA this past October when he made short work of Renan Ferreira in his PFL debut. As of now, he’s undecided on what comes next.

With opportunities available in both boxing and MMA, Ngannou can essentially pick or choose whatever he wants to do, but it seems highly unlikely that a return to the UFC ever happens. Ngannou remains at odds with UFC CEO Dana White and appears happy controlling his own destiny.

That means there’s little to no chance that Miocic ever gets to settle the score. As much as he once wanted the trilogy, he’s resolved in knowing that his rivalry with Ngannou ends at one win apiece.

“Listen, I’m OK with letting go,” Miocic said. “I get it. As much as I would love to fight him, I wish him nothing but the best and it is what it is. We’re 1-1. That’s the way it will be. He got the last one unfortunately.”

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Charles Oliveira is as focused as he’s ever been on UFC 309, and cementing a career legacy that will last for generations to come.

Oliveira meets Michael Chandler in a rematch this Saturday in the five-round co-main event of UFC 309, which takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York. While “Du Bronx” is focused on the rematch with Chandler for the opportunity to fight for the lightweight title, Oliveira knows another rematch could be in his future with Max Holloway, now that the BMF champ is moving up to lightweight following his knockout loss to Ilia Topuria at UFC 308.

“I’m about legacy,” Oliveira told MMA Fighting. “That’d be great. Why not? As I’m talking about [legacy], I mean, being the BMF champ would be gigantic for that.”

In his first go-around with Holloway, Oliveira suffered an injury 1:39 into the fight, which gave Holloway a TKO victory.

Oliveira’s history with Chandler is a bit different. In May 2021, Oliveira faced Chandler for the vacant lightweight title, and after a tough first round, he battled back to stop Chandler to win his first UFC title at UFC 262.

Chandler was linked with Conor McGregor for nearly two years, and the fight was booked to take place at UFC 303 in June before McGregor was forced to withdraw with an injury.

When Oliveira was presented with Chandler, he wasn’t surprised, nor would he be with any opponent the UFC offered up.

“Listen, I’m ready, happy, very motivated,” Oliveira said. “I’m just waiting for the day to come.

“I just love the opportunity. I’m always ready for a fight and I think that whatever the UFC says, I’m ready to go. They know I’m ready to fight and I know that I’m winning this fight and I’m next in line [for the title]. That’s how I feel.”

Oliveira looks to get back in the win column after losing a decision to Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300 in April. Tsarukyan will likely face Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title next, but if Oliveira can defeat Chandler, Oliveira puts himself in a great position to try to reclaim his spot on the lightweight throne.

As focused as he is on the task at hand, Oliveira does look back on his first meeting with Chandler with fondness, and hopes to use that performance to deliver one even better at The World’s Most Famous Arena.

“Without a shadow of doubt, the spirit of that [first] fight [is with me] and it’s just always [focusing on] getting to this fight, pushing forward, coming out with the win, [and to make sure that my hand is raised,” Oliveira explained.

“Listen, we train all the time. We try to get ready. So I want to be ready, but our idea is to be better. It doesn’t matter what we did before, we are going to be better than the last time. That’s what I do. That’s what I train for, and no matter what happens, I want to have my hand raised on Saturday.”

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Think you can figure out which UFC fighter we’re talking about? You’ll get five clues to figure him out.

We’re back for another day of the SB Nation UFC in-5 daily trivia game, and we’re switching to a system of a new article each day for the game.

We tried using a single article for the game, updated with the latest game each day, but it was creating a bit of an unwieldy experience in the comments. So, we’ll have the current day’s game plus the previous three days in each new article. That way, you can catch up if you miss a day.

Game instructions are at the bottom if you’re new to the game!

What we need from you

1. Play the game
2. Share your result in the comments and on social media
3. Provide feedback (Google Form or in comments below)

Today’s UFC in-5 game

Saturday’s UFC in-5 game

Friday’s UFC in-5 game

Thursday’s UFC in-5 game

The goal of the game is to guess the correct random UFC fighter player with the help of up to five clues. We’ll mix in BOTH ACTIVE AND RETIRED FIGHTERS. It won’t be easy to figure it out in one or two guesses, but some of you might be able to nail it. It will be a mix of well-known players and some “that guys” that we haven’t thought of in some time. The game will appear in slot #3 of the MMA Fighting layout each morning, with occasional movement later in the day.

After you correctly guess the player, you can click “Share Results” to share how you did down in the comments and on social media.

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Carlos Prates added yet another highlight reel knockout to his resume, but this time he took out a 30-plus fight UFC veteran in Neil Magny.

In his first main event at UFC Vegas 100, Prates staved off some early takedown attempts, and then delivered a brutal left hook that bounced off the top of Magny’s head and sent him crashing face first down to the canvas. The referee rushed in to stop the fight with the end coming a 4:50 in the opening round.

The win moved Prates to 4-0 in the UFC with all four fights happening in 2024 and all four ending by knockout.

“Feeling awesome,” Prates said afterwards. “This year was so far the best year of my life, of my career. It’s a lot of hard work. I can’t explain how happy I am right now.”

The sky appears to be the limit for Prates, who showed patience dealing with a true veteran of the game in Magny before setting up his devastating finish.

When the action got started, it took almost no time for Magny to look for a takedown but Prates resisted and then he actually scored a reversal as the welterweights fell to the floor. Rather than playing too long on the ground, Prates backed out to get the fight back to the feet but Magny was quick to close the distance again in an attempt to employ his grappling.

When Prates finally shrugged him off, the Brazilian uncorked a lightning quick right hand that put Magny down on the canvas in a flash and that was essentially the beginning of the end.

With Magny on wobbly legs, Prates was charging forward and looking for the punches that would prevent this fight from seeing a second round. Magny did his best to survive as he desperately tried to grab onto a leg but he was backing up against the cage without anywhere to escape Prates’ wrath.

Prates measured up his shots and began unloading but just as Magny attempted to duck out of the way, he got clipped with the left hook that bounced off his head. A split second later, Magny was unconscious on the ground with the referee waving off the fight.

It was another impressive showing for Prates, who only has four fights in the UFC, but he’s already earning quite a reputation thus far. With this win, Prates has almost guaranteed himself another marquee matchup and he definitely has some ideas in mind for what comes next.

“To be honest, I think the perfect fight would be in Australia because I have a daughter there,” Prates revealed. “Fight there in Australia against Jack Della Maddalena. All respect to this guy.

“I don’t know if it’s too far away because we have the rankings and things like that but against Jack Della Maddalena it would be amazing but also I think it would be a really good fight against Geoff Neal.”

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Watch Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis vs. Karen Chukhadzhian 2 full fight video highlights from their main event showdown Saturday night, courtesy of multiple outlets.

Ennis vs. Chukhadzhian took place Nov. 9 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa. Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis (33-0) and Karen Chukhadzhian (24-3) squared off in the the main event clash. The fight aired live on pay-per-view on DAZN.

Official decision: Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis def. Karen Chukhadzhian via unanimous decision (119-107, 117-109, 116-110)

Catch all the video highlights below.

For more on Ennis vs. Chukhadzhian, check out the live blog from Bad Left Hook.

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Carlos Prates has had one of the best first years you’ll see from a UFC fighter, as he improved his record to 4-0 with four finishes, four post-fight bonuses, and now a main event win over a top-15 fighter in Neil Magny at UFC Vegas 100. Where does the exciting welterweight contender go from the biggest win of his career?

Following Saturday’s UFC Fight Night event at the APEX, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Jed Meshew react to Prates’ face-plant knockout of Magny in the first round, discuss Prates’ ceiling in the division, and who he could face next after callouts of Jack Della Maddalena and Geoff Neal. Additionally, topics include Reinier de Ridder’s successful UFC debut against Gerald Meerschaert, why the middleweight co-main event was the best bout on the card, other standout showings from the finish-heavy event, and much more.

Catch the UFC Vegas 100 post-fight show above. An audio-only version of the show can be found below and on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your pods.

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A thunderous knockout helped Carlos Prates earn another UFC bonus.

The Brazlian welterweight crushed Neil Magny in the first round to earn a Performance of the Night bonus Saturday night. Prates is now 4-0 this year in the Octagon with four bonuses.

Charlie Radtke, Mansur Abdul-Malik, and Da’Mon Blackshear also picked up Performance of the Night bonuses in Las Vegas. Radtke and Abdul-Malik both earned knockout wins, while Blackshear earned a submission win over Cody Stamann on the prelims. All of their finishes were in the first round.

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This is the UFC Vegas 100 live blog for Neil Magny vs. Carlos Prates, the main event fight this Saturday at the UFC APEX.

A staple of the UFC welterweight division for over a decade, Magny holds a number of UFC records including welterweight fights, welterweight wins, and most bouts in a calendar year. On top of that, Magny remains a ranked welterweight, and while the days of true title aspirations are likely behind him, “The Haitian Sensation” wants to continue proving he’s among the best in the world at 170 pounds.

Joining the UFC off of Contender Series last year, Prates’s first year in the promotion has been remarkable. Three fights, three finishes, and three Performance bonuses have made Prates a fan favorite already and now he gets an opportunity to move into the UFC rankings and cement his status as Breakout Fighter of the Year.

Check out the UFC Vegas 100 main event live blog below.

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Tread very lightly when trying to pull a prank on a UFC fighter – especially Raul Rosas Jr.

This is a lesson one YouTuber learned recently as he set his sights on the 19-year-old bantamweight phenom. A member of the TopNotch Idiots YouTube channel began his prank with Rosas on a treadmill at the gym, where things started to get heated. The prankster gave things some time to breathe after the action got separated, but then appeared in a room with boxing gloves on where Rosas was doing bag work.

Rosas spotted him, and landed a punch before things got separated again. The prankster was ready to end things there, but was talked into challenging Rosas to a sparring session. As expected, things did not go well. Check out a clip of the prank below, and the full video above.

Rosas dropped his sparring opponent with a big shot before unloading with big punches. Rosas then took his gloves off and applied a rear-naked choke, getting a tap, and kept the hold on a few extra seconds.

The prankster then revealed what he was doing, and cooler heads eventually prevailed.

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