Carlos Prates has gone from a Dana White’s Contender Series signee to a UFC main eventer after just three fights.

At UFC Fight Night 247 on Nov. 9 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Prates (20-6 MMA, 3-0 UFC) will get his first headlining opportunity. The hard-hitting Brazilian welterweight will share the main stage with a mainstay in the rankings, Neil Magny. Two sources confirmed the news with MMA Junkie following a first report from MMA Fighting.

Prates, 31, was signed to the UFC after impressing on DWCS last August with a second-round knockout of Mitch Ramirez. He made his UFC debut in February, and picked up another second-round finish, earning his first Performance of the Night bonus for stopping Trevin Giles.

Four months later, Prates stopped Charles Radtke in the opening round to earn his second POTN award. The bonus machine Prates took another fight two months later, where he earned his third $50,000 check in his first UFC main card slot for stopping Li Jingliang at UFC 305 – a victory that extended his current winning streak to 10.

Prates previously agreed to face Randy Brown at UFC 309, but the fight fell through.

Looking to hault his momentum will be UFC welterweight wins leader Magny (29-12 MMA, 22-11 UFC). “The Haitian Sensation” has traded wins and losses over his last eight appearances as he has struggled to build momentum of his own.

In his most recent outing, Michael Morales stopped the 37-year-old welterweight in the first round at UFC on ESPN 62. Prior to the setback, Magny came through as a sizable underdog against Mike Malott at UFC 297, finishing the fight in a wild third round comeback.

With the addition, the current UFC Fight Night 247 lineup includes:

• Neil Magny vs. Carlos Prates
• Cody Garbrandt vs. Miles Johns
• Luana Pinheiro vs. Gillian Robertson
• Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Dusko Todorovic
• Melissa Mullins vs. Montserrat Rendon
• Tresean Gore vs. Antonio Trocoli
• Bernardo Sopaj vs. Ricky Turcios
• Denise Gomes vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
• Reinier de Ridder vs. Gerald Meerschaert
• Nicolas Dalby vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
• Da’Mon Blackshear vs. Cody Stamann
• Gaston Bolanos vs. Cortavious Romious

Neil Magny and Carlos Prates will collide in a welterweight battle of generations in the main event of UFC Vegas 100 at the UFC APEX on Nov. 9, multiple people with knowledge of the situation told MMA Fighting.

A veteran of 33 octagon appearances, Magny (29-12) enters the cage looking to rebound from a first-round stoppage defeat to Michael Morales in August, alternating wins and losses for over two years.

The 37-year-old fighter last won in January of 2024, a third-round stoppage against Mike Malott, and holds victories against the likes of Robbie Lawler, Jingliang Li, Carlos Condit, Hector Lombard and Johny Hendricks throughout his UFC career.

With a record of 20-6 in the sport and riding a 12-fight winning streak with 11 finishes, Prates has impressed so far under the UFC banner with three bonus-winning stoppages over Trevin Giles, Charles Radtke and Jingliang Li in 2024.

Damon Martin contributed to this report

LAS VEGAS – Grant Dawson is the biggest betting favorite at UFC Fight Night 244 on Saturday.

And while that typically might be a badge of honor heading into a fight for a fighter, Dawson (12-2-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC) wishes the MMA collective would pump the brakes a bit on his roughly 4-1 favorite status against Rafa Garcia (16-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) at the UFC Apex.

“I think he’s a very, very tough opponent, and not to put myself down or anything like that – I think the betting line is absolutely insane,” Dawson said at Wednesday’s media day. “I think he’s a lot better than the betting line is showing, which kind of sucks. If I go out there and dominate him, it doesn’t look good for me. And if I go out there and have a close fight, I just beat a really, really good guy – and I don’t even get the credit for beating a really good guy that way (because of the odds).”

And while Dawson surmised Garcia’s 18-month layoff, which included a knee surgery, is playing a part in making him the card’s biggest underdog, he also knows his own major success is a big factor.

“I think people know how good I am. I think people are underestimating how good he is,” he said.

Dawson is fighting just a year past what stands as his only UFC loss – a 33-second knockout against Bobby Green. It was one of 2023’s biggest stunners and his first loss in more than seven years.

The lightweight thinks that put a big crimp in his plans to become a UFC champion, but he’s left with no choice but to work his way back to contention, where he was knocking on the door when Green stunned him.

“I want to be a world champion, and I totally get that exciting guys get to skip that line,” Dawson said. “But there’s a lot of really exciting guys that never got the belt because they lose fights they shouldn’t. It’s a game of inches in this sport. It is a game of inches, and if you make one mistake … We saw it against Bobby Green. I made one mistake and he made me pay for it. It set my career back probably two, three years, and I’ve got to fight my way back now.”

After his loss to Green, he bounced back in June this year with a decision win over Joe Solecki. He thought the next name might be someone he could use to make his claim for spot in the rankings, but he hopes he might find himself in the top 15 next week, anyway.

“I was thinking that my next fight was going to be in the top 15, but I definitely think that this is a segue into the top 15,” Dawson said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if on Monday I was ranked after beating Garcia. I think he’s top-15 worthy.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 244.

Northern Ireland winger Caragh Hamilton will miss October’s Euro 2025 play-off with Croatia because of a “significant” hamstring injury.

Nottingham Forest manager Carly Davies said that Hamilton, 27, will be on the sidelines “for a prolonged period of time”.

Davies said:, external “She’ll be working closely with the medical team with the support of the Northern Ireland national team as well.

“We’ll just be hoping to get her back on the pitch as soon as possible.”

Hamilton joined Forest, who are unbeaten in eight matches in the FA Women’s National League Premier Division North – in the third tier of English women’s football – from Lewes in the summer.

She has won 46 Northern Ireland caps and scored six goals.

Tanya Oxtoby’s side travel to Croatia on Friday, 25 October before the return fixture at Windsor Park on Tuesday, 29 October.

Northern Ireland qualified for the play-off by finishing second in Group B3, with three wins from six matches.

Croatia were third in Group B4, behind Wales and Ukrainez, and if Northern Ireland progress they will face Norway or Albania for a place at the Euro 2025 finals.

Anderson Silva was proud of his “friend” Alex Pereira and “little brother” Khalil Rountree after UFC 307.

“The Spider” saw himself involved in the light heavyweight title bout after a 2015 clip went viral of Silva predicting his teammate Rountree, 2-0 in the sport at the time, would one day become middleweight champion. His title shot came this past weekend in Salt Lake City as a light heavyweight, facing another former training partner of Silva in “Poatan”, and the Brazilian ultimately won by fourth-round knockout.

Silva, who reigned as UFC’s best 185-pounder for years — and even had Pereira in his corner for his clash with Israel Adesanya —, used his social media to give props to both fighters after the “Fight of the Night” war in Utah.

“I could say countless things about this incredible battle between these two giants,” Silva wrote. “In my opinion, the perfect world would be not seeing my brother and my friend fighting. But on the other hand, that’s how the sport is. Alex, you were impeccable, on an incredible rise. Congratulations, my friend.

“As for my little brother Khalil, I am so proud of you, my brother. Thank you so much for being part of my life. Those who know your story know who you truly are: you are a giant. You walk away from this battle as a winner because you showed that fighting at a high level is not for just anyone. Congratulations to both of you. May God bless you both.

“Khalil, don’t forget that only a few like us have the courage to fight the good fight. Strength and honor today and always!”

LAS VEGAS – It’s been a minute since the UFC has been to Japan, but Tatsuro Taira would like to have something to say about that.

Taira (16-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) on Saturday fights in a UFC main event for the second time when he headlines UFC fight Night 244 against recent flyweight title challenger Brandon Royval (16-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC). And he’s got a lot going for him when it comes to being a rising star.

At just 24, he’s still young by MMA standards. But he’s proven to be well-rounded with five knockouts and seven submissions in his 16 wins. He has back-to-back finishes, stoppages in four of his past five, and bonuses in three of those fights.

In a wild coincidence, the last time the UFC was in Japan was the night after Taira’s final amateur fight. The night before, he won an amateur Shooto tournament a couple hours down the road from UFC Fight Night 117.

Taira thinks a big win against Royval in Saturday’s main event, could be just the thing that helps make the push to get back to his home country. And who knows – maybe there, he could get a shot against flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja. Or one step better, maybe he could headline a Japan return as champion.

“I definitely want to show a big impact. I definitely want to show my strength. That’s something I want to show in this fight,” Taira said at Wednesday’s media day at the UFC Apex. “I’m definitely focused on this one, but thinking of title fights, I’ve always dreamed and thought about the title fights. It’s something that I always have in mind.

“I’d love to have UFC back in Japan, and if I’m the star, I want to be that star to bring that back to Japan.”

Check out Taira’s full interview above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 244.