Carlos Prates believes Leon Edwards is “done” and questioned whether the former UFC champion still has the heart to compete.
Edwards takes on welterweight rival Prates at UFC 322 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in a bid to get back in the win column after the first successive losses of his career.
The 34-year-old Briton is a slight underdog against Prates and the Brazilian criticised Edwards’ mentality.
“He’s done – you cannot teach heart,” said Prates.
“If you give up one time, you will give up always. When things get hard, he starts to give up.
“He doesn’t do too many things to try and change the game.
“I want to see how he can fight with somebody who really tries to hurt him.”
Edwards and 32-year-old Prates came face-to-face at Thursday’s news conference, with the Englishman biting back at his opponent’s criticism.
“He ain’t done nothing in the sport at all. On Saturday night I get to prove my case,” Edwards said.
The face-off passed without incident and Edwards is already plotting a way back to a UFC title.
He has a three-fight plan that includes a win over Prates before a fight at UFC London in March, then potentially a title shot against the champion in the summer of 2026.
Having faced experienced grapplers in Sean Brady, Belal Muhammad and Colby Covington in his past three outings, Edwards is expecting a stand-up exchange with Prates, who has 17 knockouts in his 22 wins.
“He’s the first striker I’ve fought for four years, I think. It’s exciting,” he said.
“When you fight a striker you can flow a bit more. It’s a good opponent to get back to where I left off.
“He’s all right. Skill for skill I’m the better fighter, the better athlete. I will remind him of who I am.”
UFC 322 is spearheaded by two title fights as Islam Makhachev steps up to welterweight to fight champion Jack Della Maddalena.
In the co-main Valentina Shevchenko defends her flyweight title against fellow pound-for-pound star Zhang Weili, who like Makhachev is stepping up a weight in a bid to become a two-weight UFC champion.
All four fighters made weight on Friday.
UFC 322 main card
- Jack Della Maddalena (c) v Islam Makhachev – UFC welterweight title
- Valentina Shevchenko (c) v Zhang Weili – UFC flyweight title
- Sean Brady v Michael Morales – welterweight
- Leon Edwards v Carlos Prates – welterweight
- Beneil Dariush v Benoit Saint-Denis – lightweight