Toronto Loses Its Main Event: Makhachev vs. Prates Is Off for UFC 336

Toronto will have to wait for its welterweight title fight.

The plan was for Islam Makhachev to defend his 170-pound championship against No. 1 contender Carlos Prates in the main event of UFC 336 on January 30 at Scotiabank Arena. That plan is now off. The UFC's first numbered event of 2027 is suddenly without a headliner, and the biggest fight the welterweight division had on its calendar is in limbo.

The news broke Friday when Brazilian outlet Ag Fight reported on X that Makhachev, while originally scheduled for the UFC 336 card, was out of the main event — with the promotion already exploring new possibilities for the show. Ariel Helwani then confirmed the story through his own sources.

"Islam Makhachev vs Carlos Prates is no longer the target to headline UFC 336 in Toronto, per sources," Helwani wrote on X. "That was originally the hope/plan, but I'm told the UFC is looking elsewhere now. Date doesn't work for Makhachev anymore. Unclear why. No word just yet on the new target."

Before anyone panics: this was never a signed fight. Makhachev vs. Prates was the target, the internal hope — never an officially announced bout, never a completed bout agreement. Makhachev's manager Rizvan Magomedov said earlier in the week that confirmation "wasn't close to being a done deal," and even coach Javier Mendez had no confirmation of the booking. So this isn't a cancellation. It's a collapsed plan — and in a division this crowded, that's its own kind of chaos.

The part of Helwani's report that matters most is also the most mysterious: the date "doesn't work for Makhachev anymore," and it's "unclear why." That stands in direct tension with what the champion himself has said. After defending the belt in August, the 34-year-old Dagestani made it clear he wanted to fight in January — specifically because he wanted to be back before Ramadan 2027, a period he traditionally avoids for training and competition. Now the January slot he wanted is gone, and the most realistic window for his return looks like after Ramadan — pushing his next defense past the first quarter of 2027.

What makes the collapse sting is the resume of the two men involved. Makhachev is 29-1, a two-division UFC champion and talkSPORT's No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter. He claimed the welterweight belt by routing Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 in November 2025, then broke Anderson Silva's long-standing UFC win-streak record in his first title defense — a five-round unanimous decision over Ian Machado Garry in Philadelphia at UFC 330 in August. That was his 17th consecutive UFC victory.

Prates, meanwhile, is arguably the most dangerous contender in the sport. The 33-year-old Brazilian is 24-7 overall and 7-1 in the UFC, with all seven UFC wins coming by finish. Seven of his eight UFC victories have earned him Performance of the Night bonuses. He sits at No. 1 in the welterweight rankings on the strength of a three-fight knockout streak — Geoff Neal, former champion Leon Edwards, and former champion Della Maddalena, the last one a brutal knockout at UFC Perth in May. His only UFC loss is a unanimous decision to Ian Machado Garry back in April 2025 — a defeat he has since avenged in spirit by knocking out the man Garry just lost the title to. Prates had already begun preparing for the title fight when the news broke.

So what happens now? For Prates, the wait continues. He will almost certainly have to defend his position as the division's top contender before he gets the champion. Reports indicate Ian Machado Garry is expected to face No. 3-ranked Michael Morales next in a bout that could determine who challenges Makhachev first — and with Makhachev now likely out until after Ramadan, there is even speculation that an interim title could enter the conversation if the division needs to keep moving.

For Makhachev, the silence is the story. No reason has been given for why January no longer works, no return date has been set, and the UFC has not publicly identified a replacement headliner for UFC 336 — a card that was supposed to be the promotion's first event in Toronto since January 2024. The championship picture at 170 pounds, which looked settled two days ago, is now a waiting game.

Saturday's UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi — headlined by Alexander Volkanovski vs. Movsar Evloev and Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili 3 — won't change any of that, with the welterweight division untouched on the card.

The fight isn't dead. Makhachev vs. Prates remains the obvious, most compelling matchup at 170 pounds — the record-setting two-division champion against the knockout artist with seven finishes in eight UFC fights. But the January date is gone, the Toronto main event is gone, and the question now is simply when — and whether the division can stay patient that long.