Ian
Garry is expected to receive the next UFC welterweight title shot.
| Getty/UFC
The Fighting Nerds coach Pablo Sucupira doesn’t think Carlos
Prates needs to be overly patient for a
UFC welterweight title shot.
Last week in an interview with Daniel
Cormier on the “Pound 4 Pound” podcast, Prates
said that if the UFC required him to have one more fight before
competing for the welterweight title, he would choose Michael
Morales. In an exclusive interview with Sherdog.com on Monday,
Sucupira disagreed with his pupil.
“Prates knocked out two former champions in a row who had never
been knocked out in the organization,” Sucupira said. “After what
he did in Australia, at [Jack Della] Maddalena’s house, and the way
he did it, I think the title fight is the next step. Makhachev and
Garry should fight in August. We expect him to fight the winner by
the end of the year.” .
In the view of the Fighting Nerds leader, the Irishman has
everything to be the most difficult challenge of the champion’s
career.
“One thing people don’t realize is that there’s a big physical
disparity in this division,” Sucupira said. “There are fighters at
170 pounds who could fight at 155 pounds, but there are others who
could fight at 185 pounds. Maddalena, for example, isn’t a big 170
pounds, while Garry is very big. Prates, who looked big in front of
JDM, looked small in front of Garry. Garry is much bigger than
Islam.”
Sucupira pointed to Garry’s style as another complicating factor
for the champion.
“Unlike Maddalena, Garry doesn’t load up on his strikes. He uses
his lead hand very well to control distance and angles a lot,” the
caoch said. “It’s not easy to take him down and keep him on the
bottom. In my opinion, he has the right game to beat
Makhachev.”
Title Rematch in Brazil?
Sucupira acknowledges that Makhachev is an exceptional fighter.
“He’s not No. 1 pound-for-pound by chance,” Sucupira said. “But
this fight will be the biggest challenge of his career and will
show how phenomenal Islam really is.”
The coach also acknowledges that his heart might be influencing his
analysis of the Makhachev-Garry matchup.
“Without a doubt, Prates and Garry would be a much more interesting
fight for the fans,” he said. “And the two agreed to have this
rematch for the belt in Brazil. Imagine how amazing it would be.”