Prado made his promotional debut on short notice in February, venturing from his native Argentina to Perth, Australia, to step in with Aussie veteran Jamie Mullarkey at UFC 284. While he came out on the unhappy side of a unanimous decision verdict, he gave a solid accounting for himself, having some quality moments while gaining 15 minutes of experience inside the Octagon with a seasoned UFC lightweight.
This week, Prado makes his second appearance, taking on Ottman Azaitar in a main card pairing in the lightweight division.
Now 11-1 in his career, Prado just turned 21 last month, and the fact that he turned a last-minute replacement fight into 15 minutes of cage time with a steady hand is a major positive, and something that likely served him well throughout this camp. He closed out his preparations by venturing to Miami to train under Asim Zaidi at The Goat Shed, which should help tighten things up a little more and get him working with higher level professionals than he has in the past, and as he continues to gain experience and sharpen his technique, Prado could develop into an interesting fighter to track going forward.
But all of that stuff is a long way off right now — again, he just turned 21 — so the more immediate touchpoint is this weekend’s fight with Azaitar.
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The 33-year-veteran returns for the first time since getting bounced from the ranks of the unbeaten by Matt Frevola last November at Madison Square Garden. Prior to that, the veteran registered stoppage wins over Teemu Packalen and Khama Worthy, building his record to 13-0 before running into “The SteamRolla” at UFC 281.
This is good test for Prado — a pairing with a fellow finisher who is happy to stride to the center, throw hands, and see who lands first. The Argentine has good size for the division, a five-inch reach advantage here, and should be the quicker, more dynamic of the two.
If he can collect his first UFC victory on Saturday, he’ll solidify his place in the division and establish himself as someone to pay attention to in greater detail over the coming years.
