Cigarette smoking fighter finds out he won $50,000 bonus at UFC Louisville

Carlos Prates smokes dudes as easily in the octagon as he smokes cigarettes in the back alley.

Prates is a 30 year old veteran of the fight game, having competed for ONE, LFA, and even Full Metal Dojo. In 2023 he entered the UFC off a slick straight left KO on Dana White’s Contender Series, and has now won his first two fights with the promotion via knockout. His latest win at UFC Louisville was a wild knee to the body that put his opponent Charles Radtke down late in the first round (watch the highlights here).

It’s a finish that earned him a $50,000 performance bonus, which he learned he won while puffing away on a cigarette on the streets of Louisville.

The 19-6 Prates made no apologies about his smoking habit in a post-fight interview with Full Send MMA.

“I’m not the guy [that says I’m] an athlete, I like to say I’m a fighter,” he said. “I’m not athlete because everybody say bad things because sometimes I go to parties, or smoke cigarettes and drink. Of course it’s not good, but I know how to find a way.”

“I’ve smoked since I was 15 years old, I have more time living smoking than without smoking,” he added. “So for me it’s normal. I smoke before the fight, on the day of the fight, and it’s normal. Now we’re here in Louisville so I’m trying to go drink some whiskey cuz here is the capitol of whiskey and I really like whiskey.”

So you heard it here first, folks: smoking and drinking is clearly the best base for mixed martial arts.