The next card on the UFC schedule, UFC Vegas 100 takes place on Saturday, November 9, when the promotion heads back to the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, NV. In the main event, longtime UFC welterweight Neil Magny battles the surging Carlos Prates at 170 pounds. While in the co-main event, Gerald Meerschaert faces the recently signed Reinier de Ridder at middleweight.
UFC Vegas 100 Main Event: Neil Magny vs. Carlos Prates
Neil Magny (29-12) is the No. 15 fighter in the official UFC welterweight rankings. A member of the UFC roster since February 2013, the 37-year-old has 22-11 record with the UFC. During his time with the promotion, Magny has earned the most decision wins in promotional history (14). Magny also has the most fights with the UFC at welterweight (33), most welterweight wins (22), most welterweight fight time (6:51:58), most welterweight significant strikes landed (1,418) and most total strikes landed in the 170-pound division (2,538).
Magny has long been looked at as the gatekeeper of the UFC’s welterweight division. A victory over Magny comes with its rewards. In 2022, Shavkat Rakhmonov defeated Magny by submission. Rakhmonov is now the No. 3 ranked 170-pounder and the next fighter in line for a shot at UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad. In 2023, Ian Machado Garry bested Magny by decision. Garry is headlining a UFC card in December in Tampa against Joaquin Buckley and is ranked No. 7 in the weight class. Magny’s most recent opponent, Michael Morales, is currently ranked at No. 12. Morales knocked out Magny in August.
Magny looks to avoid back-to-back losses. The last time he had consecutive defeats came in his second and third bouts with the promotion in 2013.
Carlos Prates (20-6) joined the UFC in 2023 with a knockout win on a Dana White’s Contender Series card. Since then, the 31-year-old has gone 3-0 with the UFC, winning each of those fights by knockout. Prates also earned performance bonuses for each of his three knockouts. He is coming off an August 17, stoppage of Li Jingliang. who had never been knocked out before falling to Prates.
After that victory, which came at UFC 305, I wrote of Prates, “Carlos Prates looked relaxed and comfortable in his striking against Li Jingliang. He did well early on, landing at a good clip with power while showing good head movement and defense. He controlled the fight from start to finish, never overextending himself or putting himself in danger after hurting Li on more than one occasion. There was some worry about how Prates would perform if the tough Li took him into deep waters. That did not happen as Prates became the first fighter in the UFC to finish Li via strikes.
“Prates is on a 10-fight winning streak with three UFC knockouts. The 31-year-old deserves a step up in competition.”
Prates’ three UFC knockouts have all come in 2024. He’s not likely to win Fighter of the Year in 2024, that will go to Alex Pereira or Ilia Topuria, but he is on quite a run for his first year with the promotion.
UFC Vegas 100 Full Fight Card
UFC Vegas 100 Main Card
Neil Magny vs. Carlos Prates
Gerald Meerschaert vs. Reinier de Ridder
Ricky Turcios vs. Bernardo Sopaj
Luana Pinheiro vs. Gillian Robertson
Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Duško Todorović
UFC Vegas Preliminary Card
Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Denise Gomes
Gaston Bolaños vs. Cortavious Romious
Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Zach Scroggin
Matthew Semelsberger vs. Charles Radtke
Cody Stamann vs. Da’Mon Blackshear
Tresean Gore vs. Antonio Trócoli
Melissa Mullins vs. Klaudia Syguła
UFC Vegas 100: How To Watch And Start Time
The UFC Vegas 100 main card starts at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+. The prelims are on the streaming service and begin at 4:00 p.m. ET.
