Carlos Prates of UFC Louisville calls Chael Sonnen “dead prey” in boxing match against Anderson Silva

Carlos Prates may not be the next Anderson Silva, but UFC CEO Dana White was reminded of Silva when he saw Prates knock out Mitch Ramirez. Contender Series in 2023.

Now Silva returns to action one week after Prates' contest at UFC Louisville.

“It was super cool that the big boss compared me to Anderson Silva, one of my idols, but I try to put that aside,” Prates told MMA Fighting ahead of Saturday's card. “Anderson is Anderson, and I want to work hard so that in 10 years, when [White] signs someone for the UFC, he says, 'Wow, he reminds me of Carlos Prates.'”

Prates began his MMA career after a long journey in Muay Thai and kickboxing, around the time Silva defeated Chael Sonnen in a rematch in 2012 that would be Silva's final defense of the UFC middleweight title. A trilogy fight under exhibition rules is now scheduled in Brazil, just seven days after Prates faces Charles Radtke at UFC Louisville. He is scheduled to fight Sonnen in the main event of Spaten Fight Night in Sao Paulo on June 15.

“I hope this brings luck for both of us,” said Prates. “It will undoubtedly do him good. I hope it brings luck for me too. I hope it will be another knockout, another bonus, another win.”

Prates has an 18-6 record in MMA and has won eight straight since late 2019, with all but one ending in knockouts. He sees Radtke as the perfect style matchup for him to score another spectacular win, but still believes his idol faces an easier opponent.

“I think for Anderson it's about going in there and winning, rolling over him and winning in his last fight in Brazil against a long-time rival who was a major player during a certain period of his career,” Prates said. “[Sonnen] poses no threat to him. He is dead prey.”

As for Radtke, Prates continued: “I don't see a better opponent than this one for me. I hope he comes in to fight. I see a lot of holes in his game. He's never fought anyone at my level. A fight is a fight and I'm not going to underestimate him. Of course, anything can happen, but he's never fought a guy like me.”