Francisco Prado’s Coach Explains Controversial Corner Work at UFC Mexico

“You don’t need your eyes.”

Some interesting corner work from Francisco Prado’s team after Zellhuber battered their fighter in the second round.

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Either way, both Zellhuber and Prado are two promising prospects. pic.twitter.com/o1FiEJHSf8

— AFeldmanMMA (@afeldMMA) February 25, 2024

Francisco Prado coach Asim Zaidi stands by his decision to not throw in the towel despite his fighter having compromised vision at the end of Round 2 at UFC Fight Night 237 on Saturday.

Prado took on Mexico’s Daniel Zellhuber in enemy territory in a “Fight of the Night”-winning lightweight clash on the main card. While Prado showed immense heart in going the distance against Zellhuber, he was picked apart on the feet by “Golden Boy” en route to a unanimous decision loss.

When Prado walked back to his corner with a battered right eye at the end of Round 2, his coach appeared to give him a strategy to fight with compromised vision instead of throwing in the towel. A well-known figure in the world of combat sports, Zaidi is the CEO of the Miami-based Goat Shed Academy and is the president of the up-and-coming league Karate Combat. Zaidi claims that some of the pep talk he gave Prado going into the final frame was lost in translation.

“The translator said, ‘You don’t need your eyes. Fight. Go to the center. Just fight. You don’t need your eyes. If you fight in the clinch, you won’t need your eyes. Do not fight in the center of the ring. In the center, you need your eyes. Get him to the fence, wrestle and clinch fight him so you don’t rely on your eyes,’” Zaidi told MMAjunkie.com. “Going into that third round, my fighter and I truly had a Rocky [Balboa] and [trainer] Mickey moment. Both of us were willing to die for a victory. He told me he couldn’t see, so I immediately gave him a strategy to continue fighting.

“The translator, unfortunately, was not able to translate properly and made me sort of look like a psychopath – not that I mind. The translator is a great dude and just spazzed a bit. I told my fighter that his eyes are needed in long-range fighting. Do not fight the opponent in the center. He does not need his eyes if he fights in the clinch. I asked him to focus on striking in the clinch and grappling on the fence so he will not rely on his eyes.”

The cageside doctor cleared Prado to fight before the third round. Additionally, the 21-year-old Argentine prospect was even on two of the judges’ scorecards going into the third. While many have criticized Zaidi for now throwing in the towel, he still firmly stands by his decision.

“It was very clearly 1-1 going into the third round,” he said. “Whoever won that third round would take the fight. No fighter or coach on the planet would throw a towel in for that. It’s easy for a casual to ask to throw in the towel. Most casuals don’t understand the sacrifices a fighter goes through.

“Francisco, his training partners, my assistant coach [Mango] and I all left our families and have been living in a town in Mexico for three weeks – all of us in one small house, showering with buckets of water and grinding in the mountains. My fighter wouldn’t go through all that sacrifice only to give up in the third round of a close fight. We live by the sword and die by the sword. And I, too, am willing to die to see my fighter successful.”