UFC fighters have been garnering affection through deeds like what Carlos Prates did recently. Yes, yes, he did lose the fight against Ian Garry at UFC Kansas City. However, on the flip side, he won the fighting community’s hearts with his interaction with Randy Murphy, a Stage IV esophageal cancer warrior. No doubt, the interaction changed ‘The Nightmare’ in ways we’d never know. But we certainly found out that he now has a soft spot for Murphy. And now, after about two weeks of their interaction, the Brazilian welterweight star took some major steps to help Murphy in his battle against cancer.
Their interaction began with the 32-year-old cancer warrior sending a text to Prates through Instagram. The text read, “Hey, I was diagnosed with terminal cancer, I’m going to lose my hair. I live in Kansas City and will be at the fight night. It would be a huge honor for one of my favorite up and coming fighters to shave my head. I’ll buy you a pack of smokes.” It was a shot in the dark, but little did Murphy know that he’d receive a reply from his favorite fighter. ‘The Nightmare’ promptly replied, “What’s up my brother, first of all sorry for that, I can imagine how hard is your fight, but u are not alone bro, let’s goo, would be amazing meet u in Kansas bro.”
Needless to say, Murphy was flabbergasted to receive a reply from Prates. But what would follow next was even more unexpected. On 1st May 2025, Prates shared an important detail through his Instagram Story. He put up a Go Fund Me link for Murphy and asked fight fans to “Help randy .” According to the Go Fund Me page, Murphy has been affected by cancer in multiple organs. Till date, he has received 444 donations, summing up to around $13.2K, crossing half the required amount of $25K. No doubt, Prates’ IG Story probably helped Murphy in ways he’d have never expected.
Carlos Prates Has Posted A Go Fund Me Link for Randy Murphy –
Randy is The Fan Prates Met at #UFCKansasCity who has Stage 4 Esophageal Cancer
Much Respect To “The Nightmare” for everything he did for Randy pic.twitter.com/cbXTLUL6N8
— Kevin (@realkevink) May 1, 2025
And such compassionate stories are becoming more common. Not too long ago, Alex Pereira flew to Melbourne and helped a fan with cancer shave his head, in a show of support. In January 2025, Jiri Prochazka cut off his own hair in respect for the cancer patient whom he had been helping. And all the fighters took home a life lesson from these patients. But what did Prates learn from Randy Murphy?
Randy Murphy urged Carlos Prates to reflect on a life lesson
The pinned Instagram post on Murphy’s profile shows him posing with his favorite fighter. And in the caption, he claimed that he had a core memory unlocked after Prates shaved his head. He thanked the Fighting Nerd and promised not to give up. And that’s something that resonated with ‘The Nightmare’. And that’s what the Brazilian took home from his interaction with the man fighting terminal cancer for about a year.
Prates said, “He’s teaching me a lot this week. Sometimes, we have to learn… We usually complain a lot about any little thing that happens in our lives. And the guy is here, after a terminal cancer diagnosis. He texted me to shave his head because I’m his favorite fighter. And man, we can see that our problems are nothing and this man is here. He’s standing. He came here and said he won’t give up. And I think that’s what we have to keep as a life lesson. To never give up. Just like he’s doing, fighting against this disease. That’s a very tough one.” ‘The Nightmare’ hoped that everything would be fine for Murphy. To make things better, Prates hoped to return to Kansas City and meet Murphy in a few months’ time.
Without a doubt, it was a happy and unforgettable moment for Murphy. He not only got to meet his favorite UFC fighter but also got to interact with Dana White, Caio Borralho, and many others. On top of that, Murphy has now become the newest member of the Fighting Nerds team. After all, he’s a fighter that no one else can compete against.
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