Carlos Prates has a layout for how he could vault over Ian Garry, who has a win over him, as well as Sean Brady, depending on how his fight plays out. UFC 322 is not just a card with tremendous importance to the welterweight division, but there are multiple fights playing out over the coming days that can inform the 170-pound hierarchy.

Prates prepares to take on former UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards, with Jack Della Maddalena defending his 170-pound crown against Islam Makhachev in the main event set for Saturday, November 15th. The subsequent weekend, Ian Machado Garry will collide with another ex-UFC welterweight kingpin in Belal Muhammad in the co-main event of UFC Qatar.

Giving his broader overview of the division after conceding a strong and exciting win for Machado Garry over Muhammad could get him a title crack, Prates said [via MMA Fighting],

“I don’t know how things work in the UFC but Ian Garry has taken two last-minute fights, so the UFC kind of owes him — like, ‘let’s set the guy up at least once, he’s been taking last-minute fights.’ Maybe if he beats Belal Muhammad, I believe he’ll go for the belt. But if Sean Brady has a boring fight with [Michael] Morales and Ian Garry loses and I knock out Edwards, I strongly believe I’ll be next for the belt.”

Carlos Prates on the challenge that awaits him at UFC 322

Carlos Prates is known for an action intensive, striking heavy style but doesn’t seem confident that Leon Edwards will want to play that game in their clash this weekend. The Fighting Nerds product mentioned, in the same referenced interview with MMA Fighting, that he feels as if the former champ will play a more conservative game filled with jabs and feints with a defined focus on defensive responsibility.

Prates mentioned that he feels Edwards generally favors that kind of style but that the reservedness in terms of not overextending with the offense will be especially noticeable with the UK fighter here as ‘Rocky’ is coming off of back to back losses. Carlos Prates aims to force Edwards out of that composure and into more of a fire fight with fans the world over ready to eagerly tune in to see who can truly implement their gameplan to best effect.