In addition to those national representations, UFC 142 will also mark a pivotal moment for a certain fighter with plenty of Texas roots as well in Carlo Prater.
Those of you veteran fans who have been following Texas MMA for a long time probably don’t need much of an introduction to Prater, a Thug-jitsu pioneer who honed his craft early on while fighting in his adopted hometown of Houston and beyond. However for you newer fans, here’s a little background on the man they call “Neo.”
A native of São Paulo, Brazil, Carlo emigrated to the U.S. as a young child and has been traveling back and forth from the two countries ever since. Beginning with wrestling as a 7 year old in Oklahoma because “that’s what everyone does there,” he quickly fell in love with combat sports and has since become a lifelong martial artist who’s training in a multitude of disciples, including wrestling, BJJ, Luta Livre, Muay Thai, Judo and more.
Moving to Texas in or around the early 2000’s, Carlo spent much of his early years training with guys like Lewis Woods, Kenny Weldon, Rocky Long, Yves Edwards, and Saul Soliz back in the Third Column / Thugjitsu days.
it was a different time back then.
Carlo began his Mixed Martial Arts career here in Texas when before MMA in its current form was even legal. He would fight back then in “No-Holds Barred (NHB)” and vale tudo-style matches that didn’t require gloves and didn’t have quite the standardized set of rules that govern MMA in its current form.
It didn’t matter what the rules were. He just wanted to fight.
Winning his first 10 fights and 14 out of 16 overall (including winds over UFC fighters like Spencer Fisher and current welterweight #1 contender Carlos Condit),
Carlo traveled everywhere to find fights – whether it was Texas, Florida, Mississippi, or Rio. Moving on to his mid-career, he’d travel even further, fighting abroad in Canada and Sweden while developing an impressive resume which characterized him as a tough fighter willing to take on all comers.
Nowadays, many in the MMA world consider Carlo a much better than his current 29-10-1 record. The reason behind that is that he’s never carefully picked his matchups. He just wanted to fight.
Now that journey takes him to the pinnacle of the sport this Saturday, the UFC octagon on the main card of a very big event.
It’s something most fighters consider a dream.
Young fighters envision this moment with wide eyes and bushy tails but perhaps nobody can appreciate this type of benchmark moment more than a veteran like Carlo Prater – a mature fighter that’s seen both the ups and the downs of the MMA world.
Contrary to popular belief, it’s not easy folks.
Now that he’s finally in the UFC, rest assured he’ll look to make the best of his opportunity this Saturday night.
Heading into his UFC 142 main card showdown with Erick Silva (13-1-1), Carlo has won his last four fights in a row and done it impressively – all by submission with to taking place in Texas and two in Brazil. With over 10 years and 40 fights behind him, Carlo is still only 30 years old and may just now be entering his athletic peak. He’s skilled, well-prepared, and mentally ready to continue an athletic renaissance to that could take him to top of the MMA world.
Powerful beyond measure.
Make sure to tune in on Saturday night and watch TEXAN Carlo Prater in action at UFC 142.
WAR PRATER!
LIKE TXMMA on Facebook for more in-depth news and coverage of the MMA & grappling scene along with fan contests to win great prizes courtesy of TXMMA.com and much more. Also feel free to check us out on Twitter and Google+ for even more in the world combat sports!
