Prates face-plants Magny with 1st-round KO in UFC main event

Rising welterweight Carlos Prates earned the biggest win of his career Saturday, knocking out Neil Magny at the 4:50 mark of the first round in the UFC Fight Night main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Prates landed a glancing punch across the temple to knock Magny unconscious.

After the victory, Prates called for a matchup against either Jack Della Maddalena or Geoff Neal next.

Magny was aggressive in the opening seconds of the fight as he tried to take Prates down. But Prates' defense held up well, and he wound up on top of Magny for a brief period but otherwise kept the fight on the feet. Prates sat Magny down with a shot and began to stalk the veteran, seeking a finish. With just seconds left in the round, Prates connected with a left hand and face-planted his opponent.

Coming in, Magny was ranked No. 15 in the 170-pound division, while Prates was unranked.

The victory moves Prates to 4-0 in the UFC and extends his winning streak to 11 overall. The Brazilian made his Octagon debut in February and has scored four straight knockout victories to put himself on the map as a welterweight on the rise. Prates became the first to knock out Li Jingliang in August.

Magny, a longtime gatekeeper in the division, is now riding a two-fight skid and is 1-3 in his last four appearances.

Saturday's card was the 100th Fight Night to take place at the UFC Apex since the promotion began using the facility for events at the start of the pandemic in 2020.