Carlos Prates says new eight-fight UFC deal pays him more than $1 million per fight

Carlos Prates says his new eight-fight UFC contract pays him more than $1 million per fight. Asked about claims that the deal was worth $1 million a fight, he said "It's wrong" and "It's more." Fighters Weekly published the Squawka interview on Thursday, November 5.

He didn't give an exact figure, and the UFC has not commented. Fighters Weekly's headline says the deal "guarantees" that money, but Prates doesn't use the word in the quotes it printed. It also isn't clear whether his number includes win bonuses or pay-per-view money. Sherdog carried the claim on Friday without adding new reporting.

What we know about the deal

The eight-fight deal itself isn't new. Prates first mentioned it to Ariel Helwani in August, saying "new contract, eight fights I think," according to MMA Sucka. No pay figure came out then.

UFC contracts are private. His only disclosed purse is $24,000 ($12,000 to show, $12,000 to win), for knocking out Charles Radtke in June 2024, according to UFCalendar. That was his second UFC fight, and none of his purses since have been made public.

We think this is best read as Prates's own account of his contract and nothing firmer for now. The only source for the number is the man who signed the deal.

He also said he may not see the contract through. "I don't know if I'm gonna do all the eight fights," he told Fighters Weekly, adding it could be "two, or three, or one fight." He said he'll stop when he can no longer be number one, and that the belt matters more to him: "I don't care about money."

The title picture

Prates (24-7) meets the unbeaten Michael Morales (19-0) for the interim welterweight title in the co-main event of UFC 336. The card is at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Saturday, January 30, with Joshua Van vs. Manel Kape for the flyweight title on top. The UFC announced both fights on October 24, Cageside Press reported.

The interim belt exists because champion Islam Makhachev wasn't available. The UFC had targeted Makhachev vs. Prates for January. It said he told them he couldn't make the date, and Dana White said he wanted to wait until after Ramadan, according to EssentiallySports. His coach, Javier Mendez, told Submission Radio that "there was never, ever a match set on our end," according to Heavy.

In a Squawka interview reported by MMA Junkie on Friday, Prates said Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov "book fights when they want." He said Makhachev "should vacate his belt – not now," and agreed that June, after Ramadan, is the deadline. Makhachev said in a social media post, reported by Cageside Press on October 31, that his next fight "is one of the last in my career." No date is set for it.

How they've done as bets

Prates is 7-1 in the UFC. Since losing a five-round decision to Ian Machado Garry in April 2025, he has stopped Geoff Neal, Leon Edwards and Jack Della Maddalena. He closed at −200, −163 and −112 in those three wins, and he's 7-0 as a favourite in the UFC, our record shows.

Morales is 7-0 in the UFC. He was a +123 underdog when he stopped Sean Brady at UFC 322 in November 2025. Our betting record has him winning 2.2 more fights than the closing prices implied. He hasn't fought since Brady.

The current market has Prates as the favourite, best −149 at Caesars, with Morales best at +150 at DraftKings, on our fight page. With the bookmakers' margin removed, that's about a 60% chance for Prates and 40% for Morales. These are today's prices, not closing lines, and they can move before fight week.