Common sense says that smoking is not recommended for high-performance athletes, regardless of the sport they practice. MMA is no different, but Brazilian welterweight Carlos Prates seems to be an exception to the rule? Perhaps, perhaps not. Despite his less-than-ideal habit as an athlete, Prates KO’d Charlie Radtke with a knee to the body at UFC on ESPN 57. However, more stunning than the knockout was the visual of Prates smoking a cigarette after he learned that he would be going home with a $50,000 performance bonus for his fight. And it wasn’t surprising enough; Prates even admitted to smoking on the day of the fight. What’s even more intriguing is Prates admitting to smoking on the day of the Radtke fight. How and why is Carlos Prates addicted to smoking, despite being a UFC fighter?

‘The Nightmare’ is open about his cigarette addiction, and as a result, openly spoke about it to Full Send MMA. He said, “I think, I smoked since [I was] 15 years old. I have more time living, smoking than without smoking. So for me, it’s normal; I smoke before the fight; on the day of the fight, you know, it’s normal.” However, now it seems like he is trying to substitute the habit with alcohol instead. “Now we [are] here in Louisville, so I [am] try to go drink some whiskey because [this] is capital of whiskey, and I really like whiskey.”

After revealing his cigarette addiction, the Brazilian striker minimized the influence of the practice on his career. The welterweight from Taubaté even revealed that he smokes a pack of cigarettes a day. Despite having reduced his consumption, ‘Carlão’, does not hide the habit even on social media, with several photos and videos where he appears with a cigarette in his hand.

As a result, he often refers to himself as a fighter rather than a professional athlete. Interestingly, Prates acknowledged that his habit is why he often likes to refer to himself as a ‘fighter’, not a professional ‘athlete’. “I’m not the kind of guy [who’s an] athlete, you know – I like to say that I’m a fighter, not an athlete because everybody says things; sometimes I go to parties, smoke cigarettes, and drink… Of course, it’s not good, but I know how to find a way [to win] and things might get done.”

However, the habit of smoking, at least so far, has not hindered Prates in his performances inside the octagon. Still somewhat of a newcomer to the UFC, the Brazilian appears to have a lot of potential. In his three fights in the company, Carlos won all three by knockout, and also obtained the ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus. With a high-level punch, Carlão has already been compared to Anderson Silva by UFC president Dana White. With three KO wins, the last being Li Jinliang,  he is all geared up for his fight at UFC Vegas 100 against Neil Magny.

Is Neil Magny Carlos Prates’ toughest challenge yet?

Fans are truly hyped for the main event at UFC Vegas 100. Veteran Neil Magny has been stuck in a win-one-lose situation for over two years. ‘The Haitian Sensation’ now prepares to fight Carlos Prates, who by way of contrast hasn’t lost a fight since 2019 and is 3-0 in the UFC so far. The 37-year-old Magny, once a 170-pound contender, has alternated between losses and wins in his last eight fights.

On the contrary, Prates burst onto the scene at LFA in 2022, then won his fight on DWCS season 7, and then the UFC – all finishes all along the way. However, of all his previous opponents, ‘The Haitian Sensation’ Neil Magny is the tallest fighter in the 170-lbs division with a height of 6’3″. With a reach of of 80″ (203 cm), Many has the longest reach of any opponent Prates’ has faced. In fact, it’s even higher than the reach of ‘The Nightmare’ Prates, who is 6’1″ with a reach of 78.0″ (198 cm).

And while Magny has been on a mixed streak of winning and losing fights, he still has an MMA record of 29 wins and 12 losses, which truly proves that he is no easy fight for the Brazilian. So as per statistics, it looks like Magny has the upper hand and Prates will have to buckle up for his upcoming fight. Will Neil Many be ablate thwart the momentum of Carlos Prates? Let us know in the comments.