UFC Kansas City Preview
The UFC is invading the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri for UFC on ESPN 66. The main event will be in the welterweight division between #7 Ian Machado Garry and #13 Carlos Prates.
Garry is trying to rebound from the first loss of his career in his last fight where he was lost by unanimous decision to Shavkhat Rahkmonov at UFC 310 in December. Prior to the loss he collected key victories over Neil Magny, Geoff Neal, and Michael Venom Page.
The 27-year-old has had a difficult time admitting that he lost his last fight. “The ego in me doesn’t like to admit that my hand never got raised,” Garry said. “I still feel like, to this day, I didn’t lose that fight. He was gasping for air, grateful the fight was over. I was ready for more.”
Garry went on to explain why the fight against Rahkmonov was a victory to him. “The biggest emotion after that fight was joy. I was so proud and happy that I’d take a fight against the scariest man in the division on short notice, show up and put on a performance like that. I learned from the Shavkat fight that I am absolutely destined to be the best in the world, to be the champion. And, there will be a time where we will face off again, and I will prove to the world that I am the better fighter.”
The Irish fighter has not been shy about his true feelings on Prates. “Look the dude smokes American cigarettes. Drinks Irish whiskey,” Garry said. “Meanwhile, I’m in Brazil having [acai and paçoquinha]. I’m more Brazilian than this guy. I’ve got his whole country wanting me to win.”
He continued, “That’s his life choice,” Garry said. “That’s nothing for me to get involved in. He can do whatever he wants with his life and we can all sit here and talk about it. At the end of the day on Saturday night, you step into that octagon with someone who’s a complete professional.
“I’m going to manhandle him in every way, shape and form that I want. I will manipulate him and there’s nothing he can do to stop it.”
Garry also further explained why he thinks Prates can be defeated. “I like to do my job and watch my opponents and watch their fights,” Garry said. “I analyze. Look his team is called the Fighting Nerds. They do the same thing. They’ve never seen a fight where I quit before. So when I saw that, he put his hand in the air, he waved at the ref and said ‘I’m done.’ I have never seen that in MMA.
“That showed the true Carlos Prates as well. When the going gets tough he quits and on Saturday night, I’m going to put him in that position where he has to choose if he wants to quit.”
Despite coming off a loss, Garry believes his experience will help him prevail over Prates. “I want to prove I’m the best against everyone and I think Carlos is up there,” Garry said. “When you look at my previous opponents, I don’t think he’s as awkward as [Michael ‘Venom’ Page]. I don’t think he’s as fast as MVP. I don’t think he’s as well-rounded as Shavkat [Rakhmonov] and I think obviously because of the awkwardness because I’m long and tall, he doesn’t have the stylistic irritation that Geoff Neal does. For me, this is a guy I can go out there and put on full display that I’m just levels and levels above him.”
He concluded, “This guy is a one-trick pony,” Garry said. “He’s got a left hand, he’s got a left knee and he’s got a left leg. They’re all on one side. I’ve got everything I need. I can beat him everywhere for every second of this fight and that’s what I’m doing Saturday night.”
Prates has won 11 straight fights and is 5-0 in the UFC. He is coming off a first round KO of Neil Magny in November. The Brazilian also has a key win over Li Jingliang and he has won all his fights in the UFC by KO.
Prates is ready to silence Garry and prove he is a top contender in the welterweight division. “I’m going to show him a lot of things,” Prates said.“I’m going to show him who is the fighter. And I’m going to smash him. I’m going to knock him out and become really close to becoming UFC welterweight champion, really close to fighting for the title.”
The 31-year-old believes he has Garry figured out. “When some fighters do what he’s doing is because his mind is not so strong like mine,” Prates said. “He’s trying to break my mind because maybe at some point in his life or some fight, somebody did it to him. Now he’s afraid about me starting to do it with him, so he starts to do it with me. Nothing has changed. Saturday night, I’m going to go there, listen to my music, walk out, step in the cage and get one more win, one more bonus, knock him out and that’s it.”
The winner of the fight between Garry and Prates will have a great case to be at the top of the title conversation or at the very least book a title eliminator fight. Champion Belal Muhammad is fighting #3 Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315 in May. #1 contender Sean Brady is coming off a fourth round submission victory over former champion Leon Edwards in March. Rakhmonov is sitting at #3 in the rankings and has been playing the waiting game since defeating Garry. With a win Garry could leapfrog Rakhmonov despite losing to him in his last fight due to being the more active fighter. If Prates gets his hand raised on Saturday, he could be set for a fight with Rakhmonov or Brady, but Brady has said he is holding out for a title shot.
The rest of the main card:
205 lbs.: #15 Anthony Smith vs. Zhang Mingyang
145 lbs.: #12 Giga Chikadze vs. David Onama
185 lbs.: #14 Michel Pereira vs. Abus Magomedov
170 lbs.: Randy Brown vs. Nicolas Dalby
185 lbs.: Ikram Aliskerov vs. Andre Muniz
ESPN+ Prelims:
125 lbs.: Matt Schnell vs. Jimmy Flick
155 lbs.: Evan Elder vs. Gauge Young
145 lbs.: Chris Gutierrez vs. John Castaneda
135 lbs.: Da’Mon Blackshear vs. Heili Alateng
135 lbs.: Malcolm Wellmaker vs. Cameron Saaiman
115 lbs.: Jaqueline Amorim vs. Polyana Viana
145 lbs.: Timmy Cuamba vs. Roberto Romero
135 lbs.: Chelsea Chandler vs. Joselyne Edwards
