Ian Machado Garry hit the brakes on Carlos Prates’ hype train this week.
Seventh-ranked welterweight Machado Garry put together a stellar five-round performance on Saturday night, muting the Brazilian finisher’s usually untamed output and providing a striking clinic on the feet to earn a unanimous decision result. The outcome headlined a UFC “Fight Night” card from the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, USA this weekend.
Machado Garry sizeably out-landed Prates throughout their 25-minute clash, more than doubling him in the significant strikes department with his speedy combinations. The Irish fighter was able to chip away at Prates with shots throughout the fight, never putting him in massive trouble but doing enough to put together an impressive lead on scorecards.
Machado Garry also notably mixed in takedowns with his work on the feet, shooting for more than a dozen attempts throughout the fight. His goal with the shots was less to actually spend large amounts of the fight on the ground, but to instead not let Prates ever get comfortable during the fight, he explained afterward.
While Prates has gained a reputation for being an aggressive finisher on the feet, with his last 10 fights all ending within two rounds, he had a dramatically smaller output in Saturday’s main event. The rising 170-pound fighter struggled to score with anything significant against a busy Machado Garry, who was more creative with his movement in the cage than Prates.
The only noticeable uptick of aggression from Prates came in the final round, when it was far too late for him to win via decision. Down as many as four rounds on some scorecards, he started to pressure Machado Garry more and look for a finishing sequence. With just over a minute to go, he was able to reverse a takedown attempt from Machado Garry, giving him a chance to connect with hard ground and pound shots from a top position.
It seemed like Prates found the opening for a potential stoppage, hurting Machado Garry with his thudding shots while on top. But, with just seconds to work, Prates wasn’t able to make something big happen before the clock expired, sealing his fate.
A solid showcase was just what Machado Garry needed to get back into the welterweight title picture. The 27-year-old was returning after losing a high-profile fight to Shavkat Rakhmonov last December, a result which ended his 15-fight undefeated record.
Now back in the win column, Machado Garry proclaimed that he’ll be the backup fighter for the May 10th welterweight title fight between Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena.
“My entire goal in this game is to prove that I’m one of the most game fighters that has ever existed … In two weeks time, I’m flying to Canada,” Machado Garry said in his post-fight interview. “I’m the official backup for the world title fight, and I’m next in line for the title.”
The loss for Prates on Saturday ends his rapid rise at welterweight, becoming one of the division’s most exciting contenders after just one year in the company. The Fighting Nerds gym member put together four consecutive performance bonus finish wins last year, becoming the first man to stop Li Jingliang and beating veteran Neil Magny in a main event clash.
This weekend gave Prates a chance to jump up numerous spots from his 13th place in the 170-pound standings, breaking into the division’s top 10 in his fifth-ever UFC appearance. Instead, it caused him his first defeat in nearly six years.
Here are the quick results from Saturday’s card in Kansas City:
Main Card (9:00PM EDT / 8:00PM CDT) (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Bout 14: Ian Machado Garry def. Carlos Prates via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 13: Zhang Mingyang def. Anthony Smith via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:03)
Bout 12: David Onama def. Giga Chikadze via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 11: Abus Magomedov def. Giga Chikadze via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 10: Randy Brown def. Nicolas Dalby via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:39)
Bout 9: Ikram Aliskerov def. Andre Muniz via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:54)
Preliminary Card (6:00PM EDT / 5:00PM CDT) (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Bout 8: Matt Schnell def. Jimmy Flick via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 7: Evan Elder def. Gauge Young via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 6: Chris Gutierrez def. John Castaneda via Decision, Split
Bout 5: Da’Mon Blackshear def. Alatengheili via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 4: Malcolm Wellmaker def. Cameron Saaiman via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:59)
Bout 3: Jaqueline Amorim def. Polyana Viana via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2, 1:49)
Bout 2: Timmy Cuamba def. Roberto Romero via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 3:55)
Bout 1: Joselyne Edwards def. Chelsea Chandler via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:31)
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