2 weeks Ago By Tom Taylor
Carlos Prates passed the Neal Magny test. Magny, a veteran of a ridiculous 34 UFC fights, has been a staple of the welterweight top 15 for years, and he has long been the guy you need to beat if you want to become a serious contender in the division. Shavkat Rakhmonov, Ian Garry and Michael Morales all defeated the rangy veteran to get where they are now, and in the main event of Saturday's UFC Fight Night 247 card in Las Vegas, Prates also announced himself as a legitimate title threat with a first-round knockout.
From here, it will be nothing but best welterweights in the world for the Brazilian, and it will be interesting to see who he gets next. The same goes for former two-division ONE Championship titleholder Reinier de Ridder, who debuted in the Octagon with a third-round submission win over Gerald Meerschaert at middleweight. It wasn't the most impressive win of his career, but combined with his previous accolades, it should get him a big step up next time out.
Here's what we think should be next for Prates and De Ridder, plus two other fights the UFC should book after Saturday's card in Vegas. Carlos Prates has now won 10 fights in a row by knockout, 11 if you include a kickboxing match in Brazil. His last four knockouts have occurred in the Octagon, and not against chumps, either.
Prior to knocking out Magny, he knocked out Chinese fan favorite Li Jingliang. Not bad for a guy who's known for his affection for a cigarettes . Jokes aside, we're talking about some serious momentum.
And after tearing Magny apart, he deserves a fight with somebody in the top 15, and maybe even the top 10. Michael Morales, who is also riding a first-round knockout win over Magny, seems like a good choice. He's 17-0, and 5-0 in the UFC, and is in a similar position to Prates.
However, booking this fight effectively eliminates a contender. It'd be better to match them up with other people for now, and hopefully they can meet down the road when the stakes are even higher. If the UFC matchmakers agree, then the move is to match up Prates with Geoff Neal.
The American, 34, is a veteran of the top 15 and riding an injury-induced win over former lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos. He's currently ranked No. 10 at welterweight, he's only been knocked out once in 22 fights, and he's got some serious stopping power himself.
He looks like the perfect test for Prates right now. Book it for a pay-per-view main card and let's see what Prates is really about. Reinier de Ridder's third-round submission win over Gerald Meerschaert wasn't exactly pretty, but it was impressive nonetheless, and established him as a definite fighter to watch in the UFC middleweight division.
Truth be told, the former two-division ONE champ probably deserved somebody higher ranked than Meerschaert in his debut. Now that he's beaten Meerschaert, it's time to give him somebody with a little more relevance in the division. How about Jack Hermansson? The Norwegian-Swede is ranked No.
12 at 185 pounds, and while he's been too inconsistent to become a serious title contender, he recently reaffirmed that he's still one of the best in the world with an impressive win over Joe Pyfer. A fight between him and De Ridder makes sense for both, and it's an interesting one on paper as they're two of the division's better grapplers. Book it for the UFC's next card in Europe or the Middle East, and trust it will tell us a lot about both guys belong in the middleweight pecking order.
Neil Magny is now riding losses in a row for the first time since 2013, and while his best days are clearly behind him, he's probably not going anywhere just yet. After all, this is a man with wins over the likes of the likes of Geoff Neal, Robbie Lawler, Carlos Condit, and Johny Hendricks, and more recently a very hot prospect in Mike Malott. Having said that, the UFC should probably stop using him as a sacrificial lamb for ferocious young contenders like Prates and Morales.
It's time to start matching the veteran up with other fighters of his vintage. The obvious choice for Magny's next fight is Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson. Magny and Wonderboy have spent the better part of a decade in the welterweight Top-15 together, but by some miracle, have never fought.
They were briefly matched up in 2016, but it never happened. Now, when Magny is experiencing one of the lowest moments of his career, and the No. 11-ranked Wonderboy is riding back-to-back stoppage losses to Shavkat Rakhmonov and Joaquin Buckley, it's time to match them up.
It would make a nice co-headliner for a Fight Night card, or a good addition to any pay-per-view undercard, and it would probably be the end of the loser's time in the top-15 for good. UFC Fight Night 247 was a decent card, but it could have been a lot better. Originally, it was set to be co-headlined by a bantamweight fight between former champ Cody Garbrandt and Miles Jones.
Unfortunately, that plan fell through when Garbrandt got injured. It was the second time a fight between Garbrandt and Johns fell through, and it's a good enough matchup that the UFC should give it another try. Garbrandt is riding a submission loss to Deiveson Figueiredo, which reaffirmed that his days as a serious contender are probably over, but he remains one of the best boxers at bantamweight, with some of the division's best knockout power to boot.
Johns doesn't have nearly as much firepower, but is a great boxer himself. This one would probably be a very fun striking match, whether it ended in a finish or not. Hopefully Garbrandt heals up soon, the UFC rebooks it, and the third time is the charm.
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