Carlos Prates delivered a career-best performance against former welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena, earning a lopsided TKO victory in the UFC Fight Night main event Saturday in Perth, Australia.
The finish came at the 3:17 mark of the third round at RAC Arena.
Prates used a wide variety of strikes on the feet - punches, elbows, kicks, and knees - to dominate the fight. Midway through the third round, he dropped Della Maddalena with a leg kick - after already doing so in the second round - and then finished him with ground-and-pound.
"(Della Maddalena) has really good boxing. ... I was scared of his hands, but I believe I'm a better striker," Prates said in his postfight interview. "I can punch, I can knee, I can kick. I'm better."
Prates handed Della Maddalena his first knockout loss since his professional MMA debut in 2016. The 32-year-old Brazilian has earned back-to-back stoppage wins against former welterweight champions after knocking out Leon Edwards at UFC 322 in November.
Prates outlanded Della Maddalena 104-41 in significant strikes and officially scored three knockdowns.
Following the win, Prates said he wants to fight the winner of a rumored matchup between welterweight champion Islam Makhachev and Ian Machado Garry.
Della Maddalena and Prates were ranked No. 1 and No. 5 in the division coming in, respectively.
"Now I feel like I'm the No. 1 contender," Prates said. "Brazil has never had a champion in the welterweight division. I will be the first."
Prates is riding a three-fight winning streak and is 7-1 in the Octagon overall, all knockouts. His lone loss came against Garry via unanimous decision in April 2025.
Della Maddalena has lost back-to-back fights for the first time in the promotion. The 29-year-old Perth native dropped the 170-pound title to Makhachev last November.
Della Maddalena began his Octagon stint with eight straight wins, culminating in a title victory over Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 last May.
