After defeating former champion Leon Edwards at Madison Square Garden in November, Carlos Prates called for a shot at the UFC welterweight title, but he is aware that the competition to face Islam Makhachev is fierce. "The Nightmare" has Jack Della Maddalena in mind as an opponent if she must take an additional step first. After touring the stadium and interacting with the players prior to an exciting match against Botafogo for the Brasileirão, Prates spoke with MMA Fighting during a Corinthians game on November 30 and gave an explanation of his motivation for wanting to play Maddalena next. "I think I'll need another fight if Kamaru Usman goes for the title," Prates stated. "I believe it will be me if it's not Kamaru." Usman has only triumphed once since 2021, defeating Joaquin Buckley to recover from back-to-back losses to Edwards (twice) and Khamzat Chimaev. Makhachev recently defeated Della Maddalena in a commanding manner to win the title. Prates is still optimistic that he will be able to compete against Makhachev for UFC gold in 2026, but he understands that "there's a lot involved" when the time comes for the organization to make such decisions. "He and Usman have the same management, which is what Makhachev wants," Prates stated. "Usman is already among the best in the division—the best, in my opinion. Therefore, it doesn't matter what happens. I think I'll have one more fight before I leave if I don't win the title fight next. Although Prates doesn't think the match between Makhachev and Usman will be "easy," he does not believe Usman will prevail. In any case, Prates is still certain that he will fight for the 170-pound championship in 2026. Regarding "a good date" for his confrontation with Della Maddalena, Prates stated, "We're thinking April, a numbered card in Las Vegas." We would defeat him and undoubtedly win the championship because he recently lost the title. That's what we desire. We will be there [for the belt] by the middle of next year. With all of his victories coming via knockout and an additional $50,000 in performance bonuses, Prates defeated Edwards at UFC 322 to increase his record to 6-1 in the promotion. He gave his victory a nine out of ten. However, his mother Regina wasn't totally satisfied with the outcome of the match. Prates stated, "She didn't like that he took my back, but she was confident about the fight." She responded, "Cool, thanks, but I didn't like him taking your back, no," when I texted her to thank her for everything, as I always do.