Carlos Prates lost the bout against Ian Garry at UFC Kansas City, but he did manage to win the entire world’s hearts. How? You do remember his interaction with Randy Murphy, right? Yes, he’s the guy with stage IV esophageal cancer. This meant that the condition was terminal. But Murphy had one wish. He wanted to meet Prates, his favorite UFC fighter. And the Brazilian obliged without wasting much time. Little did ‘The Nightmare’ know that his life would change forever.
The interaction began when the cancer warrior texted Prates on Instagram. He revealed that he lived in Kansas City and wanted him to shave his head. He even agreed to throw in a packet of cigarettes. Prates indeed met the 32-year-old and inducted him as the newest member of the Fighting Nerds. But things soon began to take a turn for the worse for Murphy; the disease had reached multiple organs. The Brazilian tried his best to help, even putting up a GoFundMe link on his Instagram Story to push the fundraiser further up. But fate seemed to have a fixed plan.
On 2nd June 2025, Prates broke the terrible news to the world. Randy Murphy was no more. Taking to his Instagram Story, he shared some moments that he spent with the cancer fighter. In the caption, he wrote, “Today we lost a guy from our team. Just wanna say thank to this guy for teach me a lot of lessons during the week of my last fight, also thanks for all single word and energy u send to me brother. One of the best fighters I ever meet and I not talking about fight in the cage. We are proud of u bro, I fought so hard, now is time to rest Randy. Rest in peace brother [Randy Murphy] It was huge honor to me meet that guy, I never will forget!”
Soon, MMA Orbit shared a screenshot of the text through their Instagram profile. Immediately after that, the fighting community took control of the comments section and revealed their thoughts. Yes, they joined Prates in mourning the passing of Murphy, and also reflecting somberly on the impact he had.
Carlos Prates makes the fighting realm emotional with the terrible news
Most of the fans offered a few peaceful words for the warrior who lost his battle against cancer. But the fighting realm didn’t miss how Prates helped Murphy and hailed him as a hero. One of the fans weighed in on this and wrote, “May they forever rest in peace . Carlos is a real one.” Another fan commented, “Rest in peace Randy. Carlos is a real one for fulfilling his wishes.”
One more fan claimed that the sorrow would stick with the Brazilian for a long time. Not only did he lose his last battle, but he also lost his newest teammate. The comment read, “Rest in peace friend, I imagine you will stick with carlos for a long time to come.” Meanwhile, a few of the fans dropped to the comments section to leave a few simple words. One of the fans wrote, “Damn man, RIP.” Another fan commented, “Rest in peace warrior.”
Nevertheless, there were a few fans who claimed that it was a publicity stunt. However, they knew that ‘The Nightmare’ was deeply hurt. One of the fans reflected on this and commented, “Oof that must sting, even if he did it for the publicity, he was just hanging out with someone who isn’t here anymore .”
While the fighting community only recently got to know about Randy, he left an indelible mark in the hearts of many for the strength and grace he had in his own battles. May his soul rest in peace.
The post “Rest in Peace”: MMA Community Joins Carlos Prates in Mourning Newest Team Member’s Death After Losing Cancer Battle appeared first on EssentiallySports.
