Ian Machado Garry beat Carlos Prates in a highly anticipated UFC welterweight main event in Kansas City.
Ian Machado Garry survived a late scare from Carlos Prates, earning a unanimous decision in a bounce-back effort to cap off the welterweight main event at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Fight Night in Kansas City.
Garry won on the judges’ scorecards, 48-47, 48-47, 49-46, to end Prates’s unbeaten run in the UFC.
Garry was in control of four of five rounds on Saturday night, keeping Prates off-guard with superior movement, feinting, wrestling, and off-balance striking attacks in the Octagon.
In the final minute of the fifth round, Prates mounted a furious comeback, attempting a fifth-round technical knockout (TKO) against his taller opponent. Prates unleashed multiple punches against Garry on the feet and on the ground, but with both fighters suffering fatigue late in the fight, the Irishman survived the late onslaught.
Post-match, Garry said he was unfazed by Prates’s fifth-round flurry.
“I was not hurt,” Garry said after he was awarded the decision over Prates. “I was conscious at every moment. I know how dangerous that man is. I have nothing but respect for what he and his team [The Fighting Nerds] do.”
Garry revealed that he is the official backup fighter for UFC 315’s welterweight title fight on May 10 between champion Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena.
In the co-main event on Saturday, Mingyang Zhang ended Anthony Smith’s mixed martial arts (MMA) career on a sour note, defeating the former UFC light heavyweight title challenger by first-round TKO at 4 minutes and 3 seconds. Zhang landed a flurry of punches and elbows to overwhelm the Nebraska native before the fight was called off.
Despite the outcome, Smith said he was proud of what he had accomplished over an up-and-down career.
“I’m just gonna be grateful it happened,” Smith said in the Octagon following the loss. “I appreciate you guys.”
Smith retired from MMA with 25 UFC appearances, winning 13. Zhang (19-6 MMA) still has not seen the second round in any of his career wins, while Smith (37-22 MMA) ended his journey on a three-fight losing streak.
Saturday’s competition was the first UFC event in Kansas City since April 2023.
