Preview: UFC on ESPN 57 Prelims

Welterweights

Carlos Prates (18-6, 1-0 UFC) vs. Charlie Radtke (9-3, 2-0 UFC)

ODDS: Prates (-238), Radtke (+195)

Judging by his first two fights on a major stage, Prates is going to be both entertaining and frustrating. A veteran of over 20 mixed martial arts bouts—along with other combat sports experience—prior to his showing on Dana White’s Contender Series in August, Prates is poised and comfortable to a fault, accomplishing little until the point that he unleashes some highly effective violence. That’s how he earned a contract against Mitch Ramirez, and his UFC debut against Trevin Giles went much the same in February. Now, Radtke steps up to the plate. It took “Chuck Buffalo” about a decade to hit his stride as a professional, as he had a spotty record as a lightweight prior to a move up to welterweight in 2021, at which point Radtke reeled off four straight wins to put himself on the UFC’s radar. Radtke’s regional footage was a bit hard to parse, as he seemed at his best as a wrestler but only wound up doing so when opponents tried to take him to the mat. To that end, it was at least nice to see him take the initiative and turn his UFC debut against Mike Mathetha into a grind. That was one of the UFC’s ugliest fights of 2023. The main takeaway was Radtke dropping a gay slur in his post-fight interview, but a February win over Gilbert Urbina was a bit more promising, as he slugged it out and landed an impressive knockout. That’s enough to suggest Radtke can remain viable in the UFC going forward, but this does look like a pairing where Prates can do his usual thing of feeling things out for an extended period of time before springing into action. The pick is Prates via second-round knockout.

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