UFC Kansas City’s main card was replaced after Jamahal Hill pulled out of his fight against Khalil Rountree. With just 20 days to go, Ian ‘Machado’ Garry and Carlos Prates have stepped up to the plate, helping the UFC salvage the event by providing the fans with an interesting matchup.
For Garry, taking fights on short notice has become a regular feature. After welterweight champion Belal Muhammad was ruled out of the title fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov in December last year, Garry stepped in as his replacement.
And even though he lost the bout, ‘Machado’ was praised for giving Rakhmonov a tough test. Felder, a former UFC fighter, said that it was smart on Garry’s part to ensure the UFC owed him a few favors.
It is because of these gestures that Garry is said to have made a million in the promotion. And the habit will fetch him more rewards later in his career, believes UFC analyst Paul Felder.
“Ian Garry knows that these are the moments that you have to take advantage of. These are the moments where the UFC are going to give you favors for, later on in your career,” he said on ESPN.
Garry is harboring welterweight title ambitions. Dana White could even grant him a shot at gold, considering how ‘Machado‘ has bailed the promotion out.
There is a precedent for it, too, the biggest example being former light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. The Brazilian had saved a few fight cards (UFC 300 and UFC 303) in 2024 by stepping in on short notice to defend his 205 lbs title.
He is said to have earned life-changing money and was featured heavily in the UFC’s promotional activities, becoming a superstar in the process. It is estimated that Pereira has made more than $15 million from his fights.
This switch-up at UFC Kansas City, set for April 26, is also big for Garry’s opponent, Prates. The 13th-ranked contender was originally set to fight the 10th-ranked Geoff Neal.
So this fight with the 7th-ranked Garry is a move up in competition for him. He will be eager to show off his striking against one of the best in the division.
Currently, on an 11-fight win streak, Prates will hope to go past Garry and be considered a serious contender for UFC gold in the upcoming months. Of course, he will have to go through a few more hurdles to get there.
Both Garry and Prates are stylistically well-matched and would make for a very interesting three-round fight. But how did this pairing come to be? Did someone roll the dice?
Sonnen adds to Garry vs. Prates hype
When White announced the new main event for UFC Kansas City, one man was the happiest: former middleweight contender Chael Sonnen.
The UFC analyst seems to think he is part of the reason the promotion put Prates in the main event on short notice.
“While I may have had nothing to do with this, I can’t help but feel that perhaps I did. Because two days later, this morning, Carlos Prates gets announced for a main event against Ian Garry,” Sonnen explained on his YouTube channel.
“At a minimum, if it doesn’t pertain to me, somebody did what I asked them to do, which was just a little bit of a deeper dive into Carlos,” the Good Guy/Bad Guy host added.
Sonnen revealed that the UFC was looking to scrap Prates’ next fight altogether after Neal pulled out. But Sonnen implored the promotion to look deeper into the Brazilian because he believes Prates is on the rise and his popularity will pave the way for great fanfare.
