Ian Machado Garry had to survive a bit of a late scare but ultimately put on a masterful performance over five rounds to shut down Carlos Prates in the UFC Kansas City main event.
Displaying superior movement and striking throughout the fight, Garry just kept Prates guessing while constantly outworking him on the feet. He also mixed in takedowns that just never allowed Prates to find much rhythm until time was running out in the fight.
That’s when Prates finally delivered some damaging shots of his own including some nasty ground and pound in the final round, but it was too little, too late. The judges ultimately scored the fight 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46 with Garry securing the unanimous decision victory.
“I know how dangerous that man is,” Garry said about Prates. “I have nothing but respect for him. I said it to him after the fight, he’s Brazilian — half of my soul is Brazilian. My name is Machado Garry. I want to see all these Brazilians go to the top and that man hits like a truck.”
There was a lot of movement from Garry as he looked to avoid the power shots coming from Prates while also throwing a bevy of right high kicks to occupy the Brazilian’s deadly left hand. Just before the first round ended, a slip from Prates put him on the ground and Garry unloaded a nasty punch that actually opened a small cut under his eye.
While Garry was settling into a rhythm and feeling more comfortable in the striking exchanges, Prates just wasn’t producing much offense of his own. Prates just wasn’t very active and that allowed Garry to really pick and choose his shots including a hard right hand and inside elbow that landed clean.
It was a clinical performance on the feet from Garry as he just kept Prates guessing and he even mixed in a few takedown attempts for good measure. It wasn’t until deep in the third round when Prates finally started throwing some of his signature kicks but he just wasn’t doing enough damage to really take Garry out of his game.
As he continued dishing out the punishment, Garry connected with a nasty uppercut that snapped Prates’ head back in violent fashion. Garry rushed forward and ended up taking Prates down momentarily, although the grappling exchange didn’t last long before the fight got back to the feet again.
Garry continued mixing in the takedowns but mostly it looked like he was just trying to wear on Prates to drain whatever energy was left in him. The combinations kept coming from Garry as he put together three and four strikes in succession while Prates was only firing back with single shots.
With time ticking away in the fourth round, Prates finally connected with a stiff punch that definitely got Garry’s attention. It appeared he was wobbled for a moment and Prates really started looking for the finishing blows.
That led to a reversal on a takedown attempt late as Prates began hammering away with some serious power behind his punches on the ground but Garry remained elusive as the clock ran out on the Brazilian. Afterwards, Garry stated that he was never in serious trouble but he also had to be wary of the kind of finishing power that Prates possessed.
“I was completely in control,” Garry said. “I just wanted to be smart and safe and not do something stupid because that can happen in these types of fights. The guy’s a legend. I appreciate him. He’s been on a tear but I told everyone what I was going to do, I was going to outclass him and I believe I did that.”
The win puts Garry back on track after he lost a heartbreaker to Shavkat Rakhmonov this past December in a No. 1 contender’s bout. Now he’s hoping this win re-establishes him in the division and he’s looking for a trip to Montreal next to keep a close eye on the UFC 315 main event between champion Belal Muhammad and challenger Jack Della Maddalena.
“This is what’s next for me,” Garry shouted. “21 days’ notice against Shavkat [Rakhmonov]. 25 days’ notice against this man tonight. He’s a beast. Well, in two weeks’ time, I’m flying to Canada. I’m the official backup for the world title fight and I’m next in line for that world title!”
