Carlos Prates shared his prediction for the main event of UFC 329.
In March, Prates accused Conor McGregor of turning down a fight with him for his long-awaited return to the Octagon.
‘The Notorious’ will be coming back at welterweight, but it will be former featherweight and BMF champion Max Holloway that’ll be standing across the cage.
After Ariel Helwani reported that McGregor said yes to a matchup with Prates before the UFC changed direction, ‘The Nightmare’ weighed in on the fight the promotion chose to go with instead.
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Carlos Prates doesn’t hesitate to pick Max Holloway over Conor McGregor at UFC 329
Carlos Prates didn’t get his hopes up of fighting Conor McGregor because he didn’t think it was a matchup that made a lot of sense for ‘The Notorious’.
Fans certainly agreed with him after watching Prates dismantle Jack Della Maddalena at the start of the month in Perth.
While Max Holloway isn’t the legitimate welterweight title contender that ‘The Nightmare’ is, the Brazilian fan favorite still didn’t have to think too hard when predicting the outcome of the UFC 329 main event.
“No, I think Max is going to win,” Prates said on The Ariel Helwani Show. “I’m a super fan of Max Holloway. He’s fighting more, like McGregor has been five years without a fight. So, I don’t think he’s going to beat Max Holloway.”
Prates added that he doesn’t think ‘Blessed’ competing at 170 pounds for the first time will make any difference in terms of the result.
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McGregor has said he’s “better than ever” when sharing some insight into his preparations for June 11.
While Prates doesn’t think the fight happening at 170 pounds will change anything, it does open up some different questions.
For example, Dustin Poirier questioned Holloway’s resilience and how that will impact him by fighting someone who has competed at welterweight before and has had a lot of time to prepare.
Had the UFC decided to go with Prates in this position, it would be a lot harder to make the argument that McGregor would have physical advantages.