Last night (Sat., April 26, 2025), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) ventured forth to T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City, Missouri for UFC Kansas City. This was a really uneven night of action. The opening streak of finishes seemed to really promise an amazing night, but the bouts slowed down significantly afterward. There were still some tremendous scraps and KOs intermixed, but there were also strangely inactive and boring fights that on paper should have been really high quality.

What can ya do? Let’s take a look back over at UFC Kansas City’s best performances and techniques:

Masterclass Interrupted

The first 15 minutes of Ian Machado Garry vs. Carlos Prates was the finest work of Garry’s UFC career.

For the first round or so, Garry successfully utilized in-and-out offense, relying on his lateral movement to keep him safe. Prates had a really hard time finding the Irish standout, which allowed Garry to get a sense of his timing first. In round two, Garry was more willing to stand in front of Prates, block strikes, and fire back. By the third, Garry was firing in combination and hurting the feared knockout artist! Meanwhile, he was barely getting hit. It was really tremendous stuff, particularly on short-notice.

The problem is Garry suffers from a bit of Leon Edwards syndrome. He obviously has incredible technical skills and physical gifts, but he doesn’t seriously up the aggression and fully take advantage. As a result, Prates was still fresh enough in round five to turn the tide on a fatiguing Garry, lighting him up with body shots and some hard left hands.

Instead of a shutout, the end scorecard was 48-47, and all of Prates’ success came in the final seven or so minutes. I don’t want to knock him too badly given the short-notice circumstance, but it’s somewhat worrying.

A Classic MMA Retirement

Zhang Mingyang beat the absolute crap out of Anthony Smith.

It was a mauling that oddsmakers and fight fans widely predicted. There was always the chance that “Lionheart” found a guillotine if Mingyang got sloppy, but the Chinese prospect gave him no such opportunity. From the first bell, he was on his game, kicking Smith’s calf to pieces, checking his high guard with hooks, and stepping through the middle with slicing elbows.

The damage accumulated very quickly. Within just a couple minutes, Smith was stunned, cut open, and stumbling. He put one last surge into a takedown attempt, and when it was stuffed, that was pretty much it.

What is Anthony Smith’s legacy? It has to be that of overachiever. He’s always been a limited fighter, but his toughness and consistency allowed him to capitalize on a weak Light Heavyweight field, beat some genuinely good fighters, and go on a title run. Declining the belt in the Jon Jones incident was an honorable, if financially unwise, decision. He earned plenty of goodwill from the company in the process. I’m not sure anyone expected Smith to receive the full Robbie Lawler retirement package, but I’m okay with any attempt from the promotion to make a “Fight Night” event into a more memorable moment.

Enjoy retirement, “Lionheart.”

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Rude Boy Wins The War

Randy Brown vs. Nicolas Dalby was even more badass than expected … and expectations were high!

Dalby started strong with wide swings and chopping low kicks. Brown responded by grotesquely shattering his nose, and Dalby just … shook it off? It was one of the gnarliest nose breaks in recent memory, and the Danish veteran didn’t even flinch. Hell, his corner reset it between rounds like it never happened! That’s a crazy tough human being.

At any rate, Dalby was having trouble getting inside the lanky “Rude Boy” range, but he made his connection count by flooring Brown near the end of the first. Brown returned the favor by stunning him with a cross midway through the second, but Dalby recovered his footing and got his senses back. Rather than do the sensible thing and take a pause to fully recover, he bit down on his mouthpiece and kept swinging wildly!

Brown was happy to engage, firing crispy combinations and deadly uppercuts. His pocket boxing looked downright nasty. Dalby, still a little wobbly, was clearly vulnerable in those exchanges, and before too long, another massive power shot shut off the lights for good.

The arena ROARED, earning Brown his most iconic victory yet.

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Aliskerov Rebounds

Ikram Aliskerov made fairly short work of Andre Muniz … as most expected.

Muniz’s game plan was a bit strange. The jiu-jitsu ace didn’t see to have much urgency in pursuing the takedown, opting to play the range kickboxing game instead. The problem is that Muniz is a thoroughly average striker, and he couldn’t keep his back off the fence. Aliskerov was able to patiently advance, biding his time until he could unleash short, powerful combinations against a trapped opponent.

The duo traded at a fairly even clip until a Aliskerov left hook robbed Muniz of his equilibrium. The Brazilian toppled to the canvas, and Aliskerov swarmed him to force the finish with just a few seconds remaining in the round.

We’ve now seen Aliskerov smash three unranked opponents and get battered by a former champion in Robert Whittaker. Perhaps we can book him against someone in that middle range next?

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Additional Thoughts

• Malcolm Wellmaker defeats Cameron Saaiman via first-round knockout (highlights): Three fights ago, Saaiman was an undefeated young talent climbing the ranks. Last night, he suffered his third consecutive loss, a brutal knockout at the skilled hands of the debuting Wellmaker. There was a huge difference in power, and a simultaneous trade of hooks brought about the South African’s end just a couple minutes into the fight. It’s quite a reversal of fortunes for the 24 year old, whereas Wellmaker is now a name to keep in mind moving forward.
• Jaqueline Amorim defeats Polyana Viana via second-round rear naked choke: Not every jiu-jitsu black belt is built equal. Amorim dominated Viana on the floor, taking mount and dropping heavy shots in the very first round. Viana never came particularly close to defending a takedown. Meanwhile, Amorim advanced quickly onto the back in the second, and the strangle came soon afterward. She’s now won four straight all via stoppage in dominating fights, so it’s time to give the 29-year-old grappling ace an opportunity against a ranked opponent.
• Timmy Cuamba defeats Roberto Romero via second-round knockout (highlights): After two unsuccessful previous attempts, Cuamba scored the first win of his UFC career, and he did so in impressive fashion. The 26-year-old Featherweight showed off good takedown defense early to force a stand up battle. Initially, it was pretty competitive, a battle of quality vs. quantity, but Cuamba picked up the pace in round two. He started landing more and more damaging shots, allowing him to line up a flying knee. Romero hit the ground hard and popped up quick, but the referee was already moving in before he reestablished his footing. A touch early, perhaps, but it was still a sharp sequence from Cuamba!
• Joselyne Edwards defeats Chelsea Chandler via first-round knockout: After five UFC fights, I’ve come to a couple conclusions about Chandler. First and foremost: she ain’t great technically. Second, she doesn’t appear to like getting hit all that much. Infamous running incident aside, she crumbled at the first hard Edwards connection of the fight. Edwards is a striker, sure, but this was her first UFC stoppage win and it only took 2.5 minutes — looks like a durability issue! Since women’s Bantamweight is fairly empty, I would expect Chandler (who has lost three of her last four) to be back at least once more, but there are serious improvements to be made.

For complete UFC Kansas City results and play-by-play, click here.