Ian Machado Garry survived a very late scare in an otherwise stellar performance against Carlos Prates.

The welterweight fight served as the UFC on ESPN 66 main event at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., and was mostly in control of Machado Garry (16-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC), who proved to be the more effective striker. Prates (21-7 MMA, 4-1 UFC) didn’t go away quietly, but ended up on the wrong side of unanimous scores (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) from the official judges.

The opening frame started methodically as they found the range by exchanging leg kicks. Midway through the round, Machado Garry put together a few combinations while working a high right kick. Prates steadily came forward, but his output was very low offensively, and he was quick to get his guard up when Machado Garry offered strikes. Machado Garry tripped Prates in the closing seconds of the round and then landed a few significant ground and pound punches while standing over him. At the horn, Machado Garry helped him up, and they exchanged smiles.

Machado Garry mixed things up in Round 2 by looking for a takedown, even though it was well defended. Much like the opening round, Prates marched forward, but was picked at on the outside. A second takedown attempt wasn’t there for Machado Garry either, but Prates would return to his stool needing to figure out how to unleash more of his offense.

Hard, precise strikes continued to score for Machado Garry in Round 3. Midway through the round, Machado Garry connected with a beautiful combination punctuated with an uppercut that sent Prates backward. A moment later, Prates was put on his back for the first time in the UFC. Prates was able to explode back to his feet, but found himself taken down again in the closing moments of the round.

Machado Garry brought the fight to the ground again in Round 4. Prates was able to get back to his feet without much issue, and turned up the forward pressure even higher than before. Punches and kicks began finding their home, sending Machado Garry back to his stood with a few small cuts.

Before the final round began, the pair hugged it out. Despite the friendly gesture, Prates was meaner than ever with his offense as he hunted Machado Garry, who stayed light on his feet on the outside and slowed things down with takedown and clinch attempts. Prates found himself on top after reversing a takedown and began raining down huge ground and pound, putting Machado Garry on survival mode as the clock ticked away, but the finish would not come.

With the win, Machado Garry rebounds from a unanimous decision loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov, which was the first setback of his professional career. During his post-fight interview, Machado Garry said he will fly to Canada for a backup role for the upcoming welterweight title fight at UFC 315 between champ Belal Muhammad and challenger Jack Della Maddalena.

For Prates, an 11-fight winning streak ends in his second UFC main event. It was the first time Prates made it out of Round 2 in his UFC career, and his first decision since 2019.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 66 results include:

• Ian Machado Garry def. Carlos Prates via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)
• Zhang Mingyang def. Anthony Smith via TKO (elbows) – Round 1, 4:03
• David Onama def. Giga Chikadze via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Abus Magomedov def. Michel Pereira via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Randy Brown def. Nicolas Dalby via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 1:39
• Ikram Aliskerov def. Andre Muniz via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:54
• Matt Schnell def. Jimmy Flick via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Evan Elder def. Gauge Young via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Chris Gutierrez def. John Castaneda via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Da’Mon Blackshear def. Heili Alateng via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Malcolm Wellmaker def. Cameron Saaiman via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 1:59
• Jaqueline Amorim def. Polyana Viana via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:49
• Timmy Cuamba def. Roberto Romero via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 3:55
• Joselyne Edwards def. Chelsea Chandler via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:31