There was plenty of buzz surrounding Anderson Silva's debut in the UFC against Chris Leben on June 28, 2006, in Las Vegas. Silva was 17-4 at the time and was 3-1 in four bouts in the Pride Fighting Championship.
The Silva-Leben fight was a No. 1 contender's fight, with the winner earning the opportunity to face then-middleweight champion Rich Franklin.
Silva was regarded even then as one of the best strikers in the world, but his reputation hadn't grown to the level it soon would. Leben was 15-2 and 5-0 in the UFC and with wins over Patrick Cote and Jorge Rivera, among others, had developed a reputation as a potential champion.
Silva, though, hit Leben with a brutal knee and finished him in just 49 seconds of the first round at what was then known as The Joint at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas. He'd go on to become of the sport's greatest fighters and biggest legends.
Welterweight Carlos Prates has that same lithe body style as Silva and has the similar fast-twitch muscles that helped Silva becomes such a feared striker.
Prates was compared to a young Silva by UFC CEO/President Dana White after Prates knocked out Mitch Ramirez in their Aug. 29, 2023, bout at Dana White's Contender Series.
While he's admittedly still young in his UFC career, Prates has lived up to that billing in a big way so far in his rookie campaign. Entering Saturday's welterweight bout against Neil Magny at Apex in Las Vegas in the main event of UFC Vegas 100, Prates is 3-0 with three knockouts since contract-winning victory over Ramirez.
Prates is 20-6 overall, but is 15-2 with 14 finishes since a rocky 5-4 start. He attributed that to being too young and fighting in the wrong weight class. But he's won 10 in a row and looking like a potential star.
Prates has plenty of respect for Magny, who has the most wins in UFC welterweight history and has compared against a who's who list such as Robbie Lawler, Shavkat Rakhmonov, Carlos Condit, Rafael dos Anjos, Kelvin Gastelum, Demian Maia and Johny Hendricks.
Prates understands the challenges that Magny presents, but he also is aware of the significance to his career of a win. Magny, who is 22-11 in the UFC and 29-12 overall, is a significant step up in competition. He's also a grappler who isn't necessarily just going to be standing there trading punches with the powerful Prates.
Magny is ranked 15th at welterweight and Prates knows what a win would mean to him.
"I'm really happy because Neil Magny is Top 15 in the world and a really good opponent," Prates said. "He has a lot of fights in the UFC, so I'm really happy with this opportunity."
Prates has been nothing short of brilliant in his first three UFC bouts. After defeating Ramirez to earn his contract, he defeated Trevin Giles by KO late in the second round; knocked out Charles Radtke late in the first and then humbled Li Jingliang and stopped him in the second at UFC 305.
That win over a respected opponent like Jingliang sent a statement, and the UFC rewarded him with a main event.
When Silva got his opportunity in the UFC, he seized upon it in dramatic fashion. He knocked Leben out in 49 seconds to earn a title shot and then less than four months later knocked out Franklin in the first to begin a nearly seven-year reign as champion.
He is one of the biggest icons in the history of mixed martial arts and remains a national hero in his native Brazil.
Just like a young basketball player being compared to Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant in the U.S. can bring a lot of unnecessary pressure, so, too, does being compared to Silva for a Brazilian.
Prates, though, has the right attitude.
"It's good; it's good," Prates said. "I don't feel any pressure, to be honest. [I only worry] about the stuff inside of the cage and trying to do my best. Of course, hearing about I look like Anderson Silva is really nice. But I am working really hard so that maybe in five years or 10 years, Dana White will go up to another guy and say, 'Hey, that guy looks like Carlos Prates in his prime.' "
He can take the next step toward making that goal a reality by defeating Magny. And he's a whopping -800 favorite to do it at DraftKings sportsbook. Prates is -400 to win by KO.
If he pulls it off, it's going to be nothing but massive fights in the future.
David Yeazell/Imagn Images
Neil Magny is expected to provide the biggest test Carlos Prates has faced in his UFC career.