Carlos Prates Is Like Soccer Legend Romario

Fighting Nerds co-founder Caio Borralho sees many similarities between his teammate, Carlos Prates, and soccer legend Romário de Souza Faria.

After surrendering his first loss inside the Octagon in April, Prates bounced back with a vicious first-round spinning elbow KO against Geoff Neal at UFC 319 in Chicago. The win not only put Prates right back into the welterweight title conversation, but it also served to hush a lot of the Brazilian’s critics.

Prates has come under fire in recent years after revealing that he regularly smokes cigarettes, a big no-no for most world-class athletes. However, there are those who commended Prates for being open and honest about his nasty habit, including Borralho, who regularly trains alongside ‘The Nightmare’ in their native Brazil.

“I think he is true to himself. A lot of athletes who do smoke, feel guilty about it,” Borralho said in an interview courtesy of Stake.com. “When you feel guilty, that will bring your energy down, and you won’t perform the way you want. For sure, it’s not the example for the young generation, but he’s true to himself.

“Also, he doesn’t get tired, man! He does 5, 6, 7 rounds, and never gets tired! Can everybody be like Carlos? No, but he does it! Brazil had a soccer player years ago called Romario. He was known for partying, but when it came to the game, he was amazing. I think Carlos is Romaria from MMA, and people identify themselves with that.”

Carlos Prates and Caio Borralho could be one win away from a title opportunity

Smoking doesn’t seem to have impacted Prates’ ability to go inside the Octagon. Despite coming up short against Ian Machado Garry, Prates put on a solid five-round performance against the Irish star.

Following his statement victory over Neal, Prates could find himself queued up for another five-rounder and potentially one big win away from a shot at the undisputed welterweight world title.

As for Borralho, the streaking middleweight sensation will look to take over the division’s No. 1 ranking when he meets current top-ranked contender Nassourdine Imavov this Saturday night at UFC Paris.