Athletes
Fighters on the Rise | UFC Fight Night: Magny vs Prates
Casting A Spotlight On A Trio Of Ascending Talents Competing On Saturday Night In Las Vegas
The first event to be held at the UFC APEX took place on May 30, 2020 and featured an early appearance from future light heavyweight champ Jamahal Hill and the debut of perennial flyweight contender Brandon Royval.
In the interceding four-plus years, the UFC’s Las Vegas home base has played host to more than 100 events, providing fans with the opportunity to get know a litany of the top stars in the sport today, including bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili, welterweight titleholder Belal Muhammad, and former middleweight champ Sean Strickland.
Over the last couple years, these Fight Night forays to the UFC APEX have served as a launching pad for the next wave of ascending talents on the UFC roster, and this weekend’s 100th such event is no different, as the three athletes spotlighted below all have the opportunity to make serious waves in their respective divisions while competing in three of the final four bouts of the evening.
Here’s a closer look at those competitors in the latest edition of Fighters on the Rise.
Carlos Prates
The Rookie of the Year race in the UFC this year is quite competitive, and Prates is very much in the thick of things.
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A member of the Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) Class of ’23, the 31-year-old has already posted a trio of stoppage wins heading into his first headlining assignment this weekend opposite Neil Magny to extend his overall winning streak to double digits. Debuting in February with a second-round finish of Trevin Giles, Prates followed that up with a first-round stoppage win over Charles Radtke in June before venturing to Perth in September and knocking out Chinese veteran Li Jingliang in the final minute of the middle frame.
The Fighting Nerds representative is patient and precise with his strikes, opting for high efficiency over high volume, and mixing up his targets and weapons well. Though his laser-sighted left hand has done the most damage, Prates does a tremendous job of working the body and varying his attacks, as evident by the knee to the body that felled Radtke in the summer.
RELATED: Carlos Prates | Dana White's Contender Series Grad Showcase
Saturday night’s pairing with Magny is another step up in competition for the surging first-year UFC fighter — a date with the man boasting the most wins in UFC welterweight division history and that has made a career of facing off with promising talents in the 170-pound ranks, serving as the measuring stick for the division. At the start of the year, the 37-year-old Magny halted Mike Malott’s rise up the ranks in Toronto, turning back the Canadian at UFC 297 before landing on the wrong side of things last time out against unbeaten rising star Michael Morales.
A victory this weekend has the potential to catapult Prates into the rankings — an incredible feat for someone to accomplish in their first year on the roster — and set him up for even greater opportunities in 2025. But beating Magny is no easy task, and this initial five-round assignment should provide further insights into where the ceiling may rest for the streaking Brazilian finisher.
Miles Johns
Coming into the UFC with an unbeaten record and an LFA title reign under his belt, a great deal was expected of Johns out of the gate. It’s taken a little time, but it seems like the Kansas native is finally putting things together in the talent-rich bantamweight division.
Highlight: Miles Johns Scores 3rd-Round Knockout | UFC 265
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Highlight: Miles Johns Scores 3rd-Round Knockout | UFC 265
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Johns enters his co-main event pairing with former champ Cody Garbrandt having earned consecutive victories and is unbeaten in his last four, having already earned a pair of wins earlier this year to move to 15-2 with one no contest overall. In March, “Chapo” out-hustled recent TUF finalist Cody Gibson before doing the same to dogged Brazilian veteran Douglas Silva de Andrade in June, bringing his record to 6-2 with one no contest inside the Octagon.
Saturday's Full Fight Card Preview
A compact bundle of power, Johns throws everything with vicious intent, but has strong wrestling skills in his back pocket for those moments when he needs a break from trading leather and trying to take his opponent’s head off. He’s made a seamless transition to working with Trey Ogden and the team at Marathon MMA after moving back to his native Kansas following several years under the tutelage of Sayif Saud at Fortis MMA, and at 30 years old, is firmly in the midst of his athletic prime.
This weekend’s matchup against Garbrandt is the marquee assignment Johns has needed in order to potentially elevate his profile in the stacked 135-pound ranks, as “No Love” remains one of the bigger names in the division.
While the former champion enters off a submission loss to Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 300, he had claimed victories over Trevin Jones and Brian Kelleher in his two previous appearances, settling “Boom” in the opening round with the signature speed/combination that made him such a force during his march to the top of the weight class eight years ago.
Making headway in the bantamweight division is a daunting task, but adding a third win in 2024 and extending his unbeaten run to five could be provide the bump Johns needs in order to keep pushing forward in the crowded weight class and potentially garner a date with a Top 15 opponent in the early part of next year.
Reinier de Ridder
A new name enters the fray in the middleweight division this weekend as Dutch standout Reinier de Ridder makes his promotional debut against Gerald Meerschaert.
Signed in September, de Ridder migrates to the UFC following a six-year run under the ONE Championship banner that saw him claim championship gold in both the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions. The 34-year-old eventually pushed his record to 16-0 before dropping both titles to Anatoly Malykhin in consecutive bouts before rebounding with a first-round stoppage win over Magomedmurad Khasaev in an appearance with UAE Warriors in July.
A black belt in both judo and Brazilian jiu jitsu, de Ridder’s approach in the cage is pretty straightforward — close the distance, take you down, and work to the finish — and he’s largely been successful in implementing that game plan, entering Saturday’s debut against Meerschaert having earned finishes in all but two of his 17 career wins.
Meerschaert serves as a perfect initial dance partner for the incoming “Dutch Knight” as his game is tailor-made to challenge the newcomer in the places he is most comfortable.
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A five-time Performance of the Night winner, the 36-year-old Wisconsin native owns the most submission wins in UFC middleweight division history (11) and has finished all but one of his UFC wins that way thus far. In each of his last two outings, “GM3” has turned competitive battles into finishes, securing a face crank finish against Bryan Barberena before rallying to tap out Edmen Shahbazya in August.
There will be plenty of eyes on the debuting de Ridder this weekend, and if he’s able to make a smooth transition into the Octagon and get through Meerschaert without issue, don’t be surprised if the new arrival from the Netherlands receives an expedited opportunity to climb the ranks in 2025.
UFC Fight Night: Magny vs Prates took place live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 12, 2024. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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