Ian Machado Garry has predicted a finish in his main event fight against Carlos Prates at UFC Kansas City tonight.
Garry (15-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) accepted the fight against Prates (21-6 MMA, 4-0 UFC) on just a few weeks’ notice—similar to how he stepped in for his previous bout against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 in December.
Although he suffered the first loss of his career in that fight, Garry looked like the stronger fighter in the fifth and final round, nearly submitting the unbeaten Kazakh with a rear-naked choke.
He returns tonight to face “The Nightmare,” who racked up four knockout wins and four Performance of the Night bonuses during his first 12 months in the UFC in 2024. While Prates has been turning heads with his explosive performances, Garry is adamant that the Brazilian has bitten off more than he can chew this time around.
"He's done really well against opponents like Neil Magny and The Leech (Li Jingliang) and stuff like that, but he's never seen anyone with the speed that I possess", Garry said while speaking to ESPN after the cermonial weigh-ins yesterday. "He's never seen anyone with the techniques that I have, with the opportunities that I can bring to him. And that's the whole point of the matchup. Do you know what I mean?
“He's on a tear. He's on a 10-fight knockout streak. Good job. Shavkat was on an 18-fight finish streak. How did that fight finish? He looked depleted at the end of the fight. This guy's not going to make it past two rounds with cardio. So if he makes it out of one, great, good job. I don't see him getting out of two. And if he gets to three, four, five, I'm going to be doing the exact same thing I did to him (that) I did to Neil Magny, I’ll do (it) to Carlos Prates)."
