Seventh-ranked contender Ian Machado Garry will take on number 13-ranked Carlos Prates in a five-round battle between two of the hottest rising stars in the UFC’s 170-pound division that could help further the championship aspirations for the winner.
The Machado Garry vs. Prates clash replaces the original headliner between light heavyweight contenders Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree Jr, which was scrapped due to injury.
It’s also a change of assignment for Prates, who was originally scheduled to take on Geoff Neal at UFC 314 next weekend in Miami, Florida. But, after Neal sustained an injury in the lead-up to the fight, the bout was pulled from the card.
Now Prates has a new opponent, and a new fight date, with his matchup against Machado Garry set for Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center later this month.
The Brazilian will be looking to continue the momentum he built in a huge year last year, where he burst onto the scene by claiming four successive knockouts in his first four bouts as a UFC fighter.
The “Fighting Nerds” product earned his place in the UFC with victory on Dana White’s Contender Series in November 2023, and made an instant impact on his Octagon debut with a second-round knockout of Trevin Giles the following February at the UFC APEX.
Prates then followed up with knockouts of Charles Radtke, Li Jingliang and Neil Magny as he surged into the UFC’s welterweight top 15. All four of his UFC wins to date have earned him Performance of the Night bonuses.
Now he’ll face the toughest test of his career against Ireland’s Machado Garry, who is looking to bounce back from the first loss of his MMA career.
That defeat saw Machado Garry push Kazakh contender Shavkat Rakhmonov all the way to the scorecards in a losing effort at UFC 310, but despite his defeat, the Irishman showed that he has the tools to be a major player at the sharp end of the 170-pound division.
Machado Garry’s fight with Prates will be his 10th in the UFC, and Prates’ fifth, with both men looking to gatecrash the championship picture in the second half of the year.
UFC Kansas City: Provisional bout list
MAIN CARD
- Ian Machado Garry vs. Carlos Prates
- Anthony Smith vs. Mingyang Zhang
- Michel Pereira vs. Abus Magomedov
- Giga Chikadze vs. David Onama
- Ikram Aliskerov vs. Andre Muniz
- Randy Brown vs. Nicolas Dalby
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Jaqueline Amorim vs. Polyana Viana
- Cameron Saaiman vs. Malcolm Wellmaker
- Chelsea Chandler vs. Joselyne Edwards
- Matt Schnell vs. Jimmy Flick
- Ahmad Hassanzada vs. Evan Elder
