After suffering his first career defeat in a short-notice outing, Ian Machado Garry, in another fairly short-planned fight, scored a unanimous decision win over Carlos Prates, potentially rebounding as he seeks a title opportunity.
Garry started things off with plenty of low kicks, working his range well. While Prates got in a bit of leg kicking late in the round, he slipped in the closing seconds. Garry landed some hard ground-and-pound, though Prates seemed to take it well. Garry and Prates had several exchanges during the second round, but Garry seemed to get the better of Prates again -- courtesy of more distance management and combinations, including one involving a kick that caught Prates's attention.
Prates seemed to lack urgency, which continued into the third round. Garry landed a combination ending with an uppercut that backed Prates up. Garry would score a takedown not long after, becoming the first fighter to earn one against the Brazilian.
Garry continued to work his game -- at one point having landed more than Prates had thrown in terms of strikes -- but Prates began to push things by the end of the fourth. This continued into the fifth, with Prates landing a number of combinations and being the fighter coming forward. Garry tried to tie things up, mixing in striking all the while, but Prates ended up landing on top in a takedown attempt.
There, Prates landed serious ground-and-pound that did damage. Prates continued to land powerful shots, but not at a pace that it was enough to finish the fight. Garry survived the round and earned a decision.
Ian Garry Outworks Carlos Prates For Decision Win In UFC Kansas City Headliner
Garry came into this bout off of his first professional loss at UFC 310, taking a short-notice bout and losing to Shavkat Rakhmonov. Prior to this, the former Cage Warriors welterweight champion had scored victories over the likes of Michael "Venom" Page, Geoff Neal, Neil Magny and Daniel Rodriguez.
Prates's previous four UFC fights have all been Performance of the Night bonus earning, scoring knockouts against Magny, Li Jingliang, Charles Radtke and Trevin Giles.