Carlos Prates punishes Jack Della Maddalena at UFC Fight Night Australia

Prates dropped the Aussie to the canvas with a chopping calf kick late in the second round and knocked him down three more times in the third – with a big knee, a head kick and a leg kick – before the referee stopped the fight on Saturday.

Prates called for a match against the winner of the still-unconfirmed upcoming welterweight title fight between champion Islam Makhachev and Ian Machado Makhachev.

“I can punch, I can knee, I can kick … so I’m better, and now I feel like I’m the number one contender,” Prates said after his win. “I can’t wait to see Makhachev and Ian, and then I’m going to fight the winner.”

Prates, 32, won his third straight fight and improved to 24-7 with 19 wins by knockout (KO). Della Maddalena, 29, lost his second straight fight to fall to 18-4 with 12 wins by KO.

Australia’s Quillan Salkilld, 26, won the co-main event and improved to 12-1 with a first-round technical knockout (TKO) victory against lightweight Beneil Dariush, 36.

Also on the main card, flyweight Steve Erceg defeated Tim Elliott by unanimous decision; featherweight Marwan Rahiki won by TKO against Ollie Schmid; heavyweight Brando Pericic knocked out Shamil Gaziev in the second round; and heavyweight Louie Sutherland beat Tai Tuivasa by unanimous decision.