Ian Machado Garry doesn’t think Leon Edwards will be enticed by Carlos Prates calling him out.
In the immediate aftermath of his spectacular knockout win over Geoff Neal at UFC 319 on Saturday, Prates (22-7 MMA, 5-1 UFC) said he would love to take on former welterweight champion Edwards (22-5 MMA, 14-4 UFC) when the UFC returns to Rio de Janeiro on October 11.
“I think the co-main event in Rio should be Carlos Prates against Leon Edwards,” Prates said in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. “All respect for that guy, but the time is now.”
However, Machado Garry (16-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) — who outpointed Prates over five rounds when they fought in April — doesn’t believe Edwards will agree to face “The Nightmare” on Brazilian soil.
“There's no chance Leon Edwards is saying yes to fight Carlos Prates in Rio,” Machado Garry said in a video posted to his Instagram account. “Let me tell you this: I told Carlos this when I seen him in Las Vegas. (Edwards) will run from that fight. Leon, his entire career has been saying how he's sick of fighting wrestlers, and (how) he's always fighting people who want to take him down. He wants to fight people on the feet. Carlos Prates will stay on the feet with you, and guess what? He's going to turn it down.”
Prates collected a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus for his spectacular spinning elbow knockout of Neal last Saturday. Another main card winner at UFC 319, Michael “Venom” Page (24-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC), also voiced interest in facing Prates in Rio.
"You're not hitting me with that spinning elbow, I'm telling you that right now,” Page told reporters at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “But yeah, 100 percent, that's a great fight. It's those kinds of fights that I want, those kinds of fights I'm calling on. If he's happy, I'll happily put my hand up, and I would love to go to Brazil.”
