UFC Kansas City, The Morning After: Too Frustrating To Be A Star

Ian Machado Garry is a complicated fighter.

First and foremost, it’s obvious that he’s abundantly talented. Anybody who remotely understands what they’re watching can see “The Future” has a deep technical skill set at just 27 years of age. Already 17 fights into his professional career with lots of high-level experience, he’s a very tactical and intelligent fighter with some slick knockouts to his credit.

He’s also a f—king gamer. He may fight with the tact of a veteran, but Garry brings a youngster’s confidence into the negotiating room. In his last two fights, he’s faced off against two of the scariest men at 170 pounds, fighters with serious momentum behind them. Nobody was signing up to fight Shavkat, and certainly, very few Welterweights would be willing to take on a surging (and menacing) Carlos Prates in a 25-minute, short-notice main event.

Like him or not, you cannot deny the man is a badass.

The other side of the coin appears before too long, sadly. Garry has definitely put on some stinkers. His bout versus Geoff Neal was outright unpleasant to watch, and he was forced to desperation wrestle against Michael Page. On paper, those are great wins, but few walked away from those victories thinking, “This is the next face of the UFC.”

Make no mistake, Garry wants to be that guy. He literally named himself “The Future.” He’s taken every opportunity to align himself with Conor McGregor and position himself as the 2020s iteration.

Last night’s UFC Kansas City main event battle versus Prates was a perfect display of the highs and lows of Ian Garry — his potential and frustrating limitations. The first three rounds were genuinely a masterful display of kickboxing. He made Prates — who, in case anyone needs reminding, destroyed everyone he faced in 2024 and was riding the exceptional wave of Fighting Nerds momentum — miss time and time again.

He didn’t run away from the Brazilian, either.

In rounds two and three, he stood right in front of the feared puncher. He slipped and blocked strikes, firing back in combination. He stymied and stunned Prates, an accomplished and experienced Muay Thai veteran, and he did it in a Muay Thai style!

It was the foundation of a masterclass.

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Sadly, the coin flipped and it fell apart in the final six or seven minutes. Garry’s refusal (or inability) to build toward a finish came back to bite him. Prates still had juice left in the tank, and a few body shot connections suddenly had Garry looking tired and vulnerable. He spent the final couple minutes fighting for his life, an absolute damper on what could’ve been a career-besting showing.

Let me be clear: it’s still a great win.

Indeed, Garry deserves all the props for throwing down with Prates on short-notice, let alone beating him up and taking a clear victory. Still, it’s not the type of victory that’s going to really raise Garry’s star and convince anybody he should be next-in-line for a title shot.

There’s still work to be done on both accounts.