The idea of a UFC fighter lighting up a cigarette might seem like something out of a ‘Key & Peele’ sketch. Yet for Carlos ‘The Nightmare’ Prates, it’s just another part of the routine. The Brazilian welterweight, undefeated in his first four UFC bouts, is as comfortable with a cigarette in hand as he is delivering highlight reel finishes inside the Octagon.

In a sport built on discipline and grueling cardio, the notion of puffing away feels almost criminal. But the Brazilian isn’t alone. He follows a strange lineage—fighters like Ricardo Mayorga, Kazushi Sakuraba, and Jean-Charles Skarbowsky—all battle-hardened legends who enjoyed their nicotine kick. And now, with a showdown against Ian Garry looming at UFC on ESPN 66, let’s find out the origins of Carlos Prates’s addiction and how far it goes!

Carlos Prates reveals how he started smoking cigarettes 

Carlos Prates didn’t choose the streets—life handed them to him. Born on August 17, 1993, in Taubate, Sao Paulo, the future UFC welterweight grew up under the care of a single mother who wore many hats. Provider, caretaker, and survivor. While she worked long hours and looked after her aging parents, the youngster was left to navigate the world on his own.

In a past interview with ‘Sherdog’, he revealed, “Honestly, I started smoking when I was 12 or 13 years old.”

Due to his mother working long hours as the sole provider for the family, and taking care of Carlos Prates’s grandparents, she was absent from the house for long hours. ‘The Nightmare’ further stated, “…she had to pay for everything and also take care of my grandparents. So, she would leave early in the morning and come back late at night. And I was raised on the street. When you spend a lot of time on the street, you learn a lot of bad things.”

Cigarettes became a coping mechanism. A rebellion. Maybe even a companion. But so did Muay Thai. He started training at Vale Top Team and eventually moved to Thailand to refine his skills after his fourth MMA loss. The smog of smoke and the clarity of combat began to clash, but both became inseparable parts of his journey.

Carlos Prates isn’t the first to walk this smoky road, however. Legendary boxer Ricardo Mayorga once lit a cigarette at a press conference, puffing away before knocking out top-tier boxers.

Jean-Charles Skarbowsky was Georges St-Pierre’s secret weapon on The Ultimate Fighter, rolling off planes, lighting smokes, and lighting up sparring partners. And Kazushi Sakuraba? The man went 90 minutes against Royce Gracie in one of the longest fights in modern MMA history, with a smoker’s lungs!

When Carlos Prates tried to quit smoking

But even warriors carry their vices like chains. When Carlos Prates tried to break free, the cost was immediate.

“I tried to stop one time,” he shared during an interview with Ariel Helwani, “and then I was one week without smoking. I gained five kilos in six days because I ate a lot and didn’t go to the gym.”

For most, quitting brings relief.

For Prates, it brought a slowdown—a derailment from the rhythm that carried him through fight camps. The cigarette, it seems, was less about indulgence and more about balance. But maybe there’s something deeply primal in these fighters. Maybe the nicotine isn’t the point, it’s the rebellion.  The reminder that they aren’t polished athletes sculpted by PR firms. They’re warriors, rough around the edges, fueled by grit and scars.

How many cigarettes does Carlos Prates smoke in a day?

So, how deep is the addiction? The veteran MMA journalist Ariel Helwani didn’t hesitate to ask during their conversation.

“Bro, maybe eight per day, 10, 11…” Prates replied casually, as if counting reps in a workout. “Before, they [his coaches] told me a lot [to stop smoking], you know, but now [they’ve stopped doing it].”

And then came the real bombshell. Helwani asked the unthinkable: does he smoke on fight day? Prates didn’t blink as he stated, “Yeah…”. But how close to fight time is he still puffing away?

“The last cigarette I smoke before I come to the UFC Apex,” he shrugged. “Because you can’t smoke there, you know. You cannot smoke anything there, you cannot drink anything there, just water, what they give to you. And eat food what they give to you.”

It’s a startling admission. In the minutes leading up to a professional cage fight, Carlos Prates is puffing his way to war. After UFC Louisville, where Prates folded Charles Radtke with a thunderous knee to the body and took home a $50,000 performance bonus, he didn’t celebrate with recovery shakes or cold plunges. Instead, he lit up a smoke and enjoyed the aftermath.

In an interview with Full Send MMA, cigarette in hand, he made it clear, “I’m not the guy [that says I’m] an athlete, I like to say I’m a fighter. I’m not athlete because everybody say bad things because sometimes I go to parties, or smoke cigarettes and drink. Of course it’s not good, but I know how to find a way. ”

Then he said something wild. Something that might just explain it all, as Prates confessed, “I’ve smoked since I was 15 years old, I have more time living smoking than without smoking.”

Prates isn’t trying to be a role model. He’s not pitching health advice. He’s just being himself, honest, wild, unpredictable. A man who fights for his life, then lights a cigarette like it’s nothing. 

The real question isn’t why he smokes. It’s how he’s still winning despite it. What do you think about an elite UFC fighter being at the top of the game with a smoking habit? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!