Carlos Prates believes a KO win over Geoff Neal puts him back in the welterweight mix

Carlos Prates believes he’ll be right back in the mix with the top welterweight contenders if he can defeat Geoff Neal.

As we know, the welterweight division is absolutely stacked right now. There are so many top guys at 170 pounds and with Islam Makhachev being set to make his debut in the weight class soon, it’s only going to get better. One man who is seen as a pretty interesting contender is Carlos Prates, who most recently fell to a tight loss against Ian Machado Garry.

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Now, Prates is hoping to bounce back at UFC 319 when he locks horns with Geoff Neal. While the winner isn’t likely to receive a title shot anytime soon, it’s certainly going to give us an interesting insight into how close both men are to reaching that level.

In a recent interview prior to fight night, Prates spoke about what this fight could do for his future.

Prates is ready for big Neal test

“I learned a lot about how to listen to my coach, first of all, how important the right game plan is,” Prates told MMA Junkie and other reporters Wednesday at a pre-fight news conference. “Of course Ian is great. He’s a really smart, really intelligent fighter. But I also learned how to be a complete fighter is important.

“Sometimes, it’s time to stop thinking about only bonuses and knocking people out and entertaining people, and just focusing on getting the win. Because at the end of the day, getting the win is more important than getting bonuses or something like that.”

“After (beating) Geoff Neal, it’s going to make life on the top of the division,” Prates said. “You know when you talk about who is close to the title shot? Maybe one, maybe two or three fights? So you have some names there. I lost my last fight and I think my name is not there. But I think after I beat Geoff Neal, my name is going to be back with the guys close enough to a title shot. Maybe three fights or one year (from now) I can fight for the belt.”

Quotes via MMA Junkie