Conor McGregor says the UFC floated Carlos Prates as a possible opponent at 170 pounds, but he believes the promotion was really trying to push him back toward 155 pounds instead. In a new interview with Ariel Helwani, McGregor said he agreed to the fight in principle, waited for a contract, and says nothing ever arrived.
Conor McGregor explains failed Carlos Prates talks
The bigger picture is that McGregor and Max Holloway are now being lined up for UFC 329 at welterweight, a move that would send two fighters with most of their UFC careers at 145 and 155 into a new division. McGregor has only fought at 170 once before, while Holloway has built his UFC run around featherweight with a later move to lightweight.
McGregor framed the Prates talk as a test of sorts. He said, “They spoke to me about him, I said, ‘Yeah, no problem. Send the contract.’ So I’m saying yeah for about two weeks, where’s the fucking contract? No contract came. Do you know what it was? They wanted me back down at 155 pounds. So I think they were trying to throw names at me… [To all the names] Yes, no problem.”
That version matches reporting around the comeback talks, which said the UFC had discussed Prates with McGregor before moving in a different direction. Ariel Helwani also reported that McGregor had accepted the Prates idea, but the promotion did not stay with that matchup.
The welterweight angle is a big part of the story because it changes the equation for both men. McGregor has spent most of his UFC career at featherweight and lightweight, and his move to 170 has been rare. Holloway, meanwhile, is also known for 145 and 155, so a 170-pound main event would be a shift for both sides rather than a usual cut-and-rehydrate fight week.
McGregor said the UFC’s pitch kept circling back to names rather than a clean contract, which is why he read the situation as pressure to drag him down in weight. He also left the door open to other options, saying, “[To all the names] Yes, no problem.”
Carlos Prates is an interesting threat because he brings real stopping power and a stretch of knockouts that has put him on the map quickly. 24 career wins with an impressive 19 by way of KO/TKO. He has recently stopped Jack Della Maddalena, Leon Edwards, and Geoff Neal.
Holloway has emerged as the return opponent at UFC 329 on July 11 in Las Vegas. The bout is expected to take place at 170 pounds, which would be Holloway’s first time competing at welterweight in the UFC.
That pairing also brings a long rivalry back into focus. McGregor and Holloway fought in the featherweight division years ago, and both men later built large parts of their resumes at 155. A welterweight meeting would give the matchup a different look, even if the names are the same.
For McGregor, the key detail is not just who he may fight, but where the UFC wants him to sit on the scale. His comments suggest he sees the Prates talk as leverage, while the Holloway fight appears to be the direction that stuck.
McGregor says he agreed to the Prates idea, no contract came through, and the focus has now shifted to Holloway at 170. That leaves the UFC’s next move centered on a comeback that feels more like a welterweight experiment than a classic McGregor weight-class return.
