For a lot of MMA fighters, money is a huge motivator and catalyst as a common theme among them is surviving harsh financial backgrounds growing up. UFC breakout star Carlos Prates is no different. ‘The Nightmare’ was born to a single mother, and financial woes were a recurring theme in his life. Despite this, his mindful mother enrolled him in Muay Thai classes when he was 15, as she didn’t want him to go down a troubled path as a result of his mental stress and anger issues.
Combat sports helped Prates find balance and direction, and he went on to amass an incredible record in kickboxing, while simultaneously working on his MMA career. He continued bouncing between mixed martial arts and striking matches after his MMA debut and decided to move to Thailand. As per his account to MMA Fighting, there were no sponsors in Thailand, so he had to fight to pay rent and buy groceries. He said, “You needed the money to pay for stuff, and you never knew if you would get injured the next month and wouldn’t be able to fight again, so we always fought.” But those days are in the past as he is now under UFC with a brilliant 4 fight-winning streak, earning a decent pay check. So, let’s check out his net worth, shall we?
Carlos Prates’ 2025 net worth and endorsements
After living in Thailand for six years, Prates currently trains at Vale Top Team, popularly known as ‘The Fighting Nerds’. He has enough experience to disregard any pre-fight nervousness and just goes all in. He showed his prowess in 2023 at the Dana White Contender Series by beating Mitch Ramirez via KO/TKO in round 2. Since then he has garnered 4 back-to-back knockout wins in UFC.
As per Sports Casting, his net worth stands at $300,000. So far, ‘The Nightmare’ has been putting his money where his mouth is—and he does all his talking through spectacular highlight-reel finishes. As for his endorsements and sponsorships, not much is known, but from his Instagram, it is visible that he is a part of Maximum Boxing, which sells high-end boxing equipment.
Meanwhile, all of his UFC payments are not available on the public domain but we can trace some of his earnings though his recent outings with the promotion. So let’s see how much he has earned in UFC.
How much does Carlos Prates earn? UFC payout and salary
Carlos Prates’ fight against Li Jingliang was a masterclass knockout victory at UFC 305. He made an estimated $65,000 for this fight. ‘The Nightmare’ put away ‘The Leech’ in the first round and thus got a Performance of the Night bonus of a whopping $50,000.
After this fight, Prates was up against Neil Magny in November 2024 at UFC Vegas 100 and again had a great showing where he put ‘The Haitian Sensation’ to sleep. According to Sporty Salaries and Total Sports.com, Prates earned an estimated $350,000 purse for UFC Vegas 100, along with an additional $100,000 win bonus. Other than this, as per the UFC, Prates also earned Performance of the Night honors, bagging a total of $150,000 in each of these UFC wins in 2024. But is money the only thing that motivates him?
“I’m grateful that life took me to the world’s greatest organization, but if that hadn’t happened, I would still be living and I would still be a happy man,” he said to UFC. “I can’t be a hypocrite and say that it doesn’t change my life,” he added. “But I think the main purpose of the money I make is to help everyone who has helped me get to where I am.”
Despite being a rising star and taking over the UFC in such a short time, Prates remains humble. Do you think he will win his next fight against Ian Machado Garry and pocket another bonus at UFC Fight Night 66? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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