“The Smoker” – that’s how Ian Garry chose to describe his opponent for the weekend, Carlos Prates, during a word association segment with ‘tntsportsufc.’ The Irishman has a point, but that may not hold true by this time next year. Athletes, and not just in combat sports, prefer to have a pretty clean lifestyle. Strict diets, routine workouts, and a disciplined lifestyle. UFC welterweight prospect Carlos Prates follows a similar routine, but he’s got one habit that not many people would be a fan of: smoking. “Normal day? Maybe 10, 15 cigarettes,” the 21-6 star revealed recently. But as we approach his fight against Ian Garry this weekend at UFC Kansas City, Prates has claimed to have reduced his smoking quantity.
Carlos Prates has always maintained his stance on the fact that smoking hasn’t really changed the kind of fighters’ lifestyle he leads. He claims to be putting in the work harder than the others every day, maintaining his skill set and growing more as a fighter. But recently, he’s cut down to less than ten cigarettes a day. Why? Well, some would start to think that maybe it’s because of Prates’ fight against Ian Garry, but that’s not entirely true. In fact, the 31-year-old appears to be trying to reduce the number of cigarettes he consumes every day to tone down on the habit.
“I’m just doing what I do all the time. I just come to the gym, train hard, train a lot. I’m the first guy to come to the gym and the last guy to leave the gym,” Carlos Prates stated on the Ariel Helwani Show. “Yeah [I still smoke 10-15 cigarettes a day]. No problem. Still doing five rounds, six rounds. I’m trying to smoke a little bit less, but not because I’m going to fight – because I want to smoke a little bit less…Yeah, maybe ten, eight [cigarettes per day]”
‘The Nightmare’ also revealed that he’s able to control consuming alcohol as well, especially because he’s not a party-goer. However, he did admit that he practices a lot of self-control to stay on track on certain occasions. “I stay without drinking maybe two months, one month and a half, because I don’t go party. I don’t go anywhere, just training… It’s not difficult to be far away from drinks, but it’s difficult to stay far away from party,” Prates added.
Carlos Prates shares he’s still smoking around 10 cigarettes leading into his 5-round main event
“I’m trying to smoke a little bit less, not because I’m going to fight, but because I’m trying to get heavier and stronger.”
“I stay without drinking maybe 2 months because I… pic.twitter.com/BxvGdiVgNz
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 7, 2025
Well, Carlos Prates may not be wrong in cutting down his cigarette consumption because it could come in handy against Ian Garry, who took Shavkat Rakhmonov to the limit. He and the Irishman even went back and forth recently on social media. Here’s what they had to say.
Carlos Prates and Ian Garry diss each other
Carlos Prates is part of the Fighting Nerds team, comprising four fighters in the UFC who’ve got a combined promotional record of 19-0. But for Ian Garry ‘The Nightmare’ is the weakest link in the chain held together by Caio Borralho, Mauricio Ruffy, and Jean Silva. “I just think they’re all great. I think Prates is the worst of the four,” ‘The Future’ stated during an interview with CBS Sports. Guess what? Prates didn’t hold back either.
Both Ian Garry and Carlos Prates have fought Neil Magny in their UFC careers. While the Brazilian was able to knock the veteran out within the first five minutes, the Irishman could only win via decision, even when ‘The Haitian Sensation’ hurt his leg during the fight. As such, Prates decided to take a dig at Garry about that fight. “Magny with a bruised leg… Neil Magny… no leg, and he says he’s going to knock me out… No way,” ‘The Nightmare’ stated on his YouTube channel.
Well, we will all find out who’s made the best preparation for the fight when we land in Kansas City this weekend. So give us your pick for the winner of the main event in the comments section down below.
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