Carlos Prates’ smoking may have hurt UFC Kansas City performance, says Josh Thomson

MMA analyst Josh Thomson has given his thoughts on Carlos Prates’ smoking after his loss at UFC Kansas City.

Last weekend, Carlos Prates fell short in his attempt to overcome the challenge of Ian Machado Garry. The two men went to war in the main event in Kansas City, with the Irishman coming away with the victory. However, he didn’t have things all his own way. In the fifth and final round, Prates was able to hurt Machado Garry pretty badly – to the point where it seemed as if he was close to getting him out of there.

RELATED: WATCH | UFC Kansas City headliner caught smoking cigarettes days before main event fight

Alas, that didn’t quite come to fruition, and now, Prates will have to go back to the drawing board. He’s still an exceptionally talented fighter but he has a few things he needs to iron out if he’s going to continue to compete with the truly elite fighters residing at 170 pounds.

In a recent podcast, the aforementioned Josh Thomson had a few thoughts on what went down with the Brazilian and his overall performance.

Thomson’s view on Prates’ smoking

“The lesson that I learned by watching Prates, you should probably stop smoking,” Thomson said on the Weighing In Podcast.

“You were so close…

“If you quit smoking, you’d have a little bit more output.

“There’s different ways of looking at it. He looked like he had the cardio, but he was exhausted in the fifth. Obviously, trying to get him out of there. But all he had to do, it just felt like all he had to do is just a little bit more. Just a tiny [bit],” Thomson said of Prates’ near-finish.

“Whether it’s because you didn’t have the cardio to push a little bit harder or and because you smoke or you just were real gun-shy because either the speed was throwing you off or you just gave them too much respect…

“One of the two,” Thomson said of why Prates lost to Machado Garry.

“But no matter what you do, you’re just gonna wake up tomorrow morning and go back and watch the fight and be like, ‘Damn, I could’ve done this, I could’ve done that…’”

Quotes via Bloody Elbow

What do you make of this analysis? Let us know your thoughts, BJPENN Nation!