“I want to fight next at UFC Rio (in May). I just want to bring my mom to watch me live fighting in the UFC and make her happy fighting in my home (country). Now I want to fight in Brazil. It’s more about the location, I think. I think Santiago Ponzinibbio or Joaquim Buckley – guys like that would be amazing. They’re not top 15, I think, but they are good names to fight against.
“When I won my contract on Contender Series, I was leaving Vegas and going to Brazil and my manager said, ‘Hey, you want to fight in two weeks?’ And I said, ‘Against who?’ And he said Santiago Ponzinibbio because (Daniel Rodriguez) pulled out of the fight. They asked me to fight him, I think because I’m so powerful and his opponent was powerful, also, but I was a little bit injured and I was going back to Brazil, so I would have only two weeks to get a visa again and train and cut weight, so I didn’t accept the fight. (My manager said Ponzinibbio) was a little bit angry, so maybe that fight is good to us. We want to fight against him, and (if it’s) in Brazil, that would be awesome.”
To hear more from Prates, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 236.
This story originally appeared on MMA Junkie