Shots fired.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fan-favorite Carlos Pratesreturns to action this weekend against former Welterweight championLeon Edwards on the main card of UFC 322, which takes place Sat., Nov. 15, 2025, inside the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Leading up to the bout, there hadn’t been much trash talk between the two — until now. During UFC 322 media day (watch here), Prates took a direct shot at Edwards’ mentality, accusing “Rocky” of folding under pressure.
“No, he’s done,” Prates told reporters when asked about Edwards’ current mentality. “We cannot teach heart. If you already give up one time, you’re going to give up always. Leon is the kind of fighter that, when things start to get hard, when he sees it’s going to be a hard night, he starts to give up. He don’t do too many things to try and change the game and forgets about the win, just try to survive during the fight…I think his prime gone already.”
While Edwards’ last two outings haven’t gone well — both one-sided losses with little offense — it’s impossible to forget his legendary comeback knockout over Kamaru Usman at UFC 278 (watch highlights), when he was seconds away from defeat before landing the head kick heard around the world. Still, that moment came three years ago, and the sport moves fast.
Prates doesn’t have to worry about Edwards’ motivation, though, as the former champion has said he is in a must-win situation and is very excited to be fighting a striker.
Good thing we only have to wait a few more days to see who’s right.
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