This weekend, all eyes turn to Kansas City as a crucial welterweight showdown takes center stage. Seventh-ranked Ian Garry steps back into the spotlight, looking to solidify his rise in the division, while 13th-ranked Carlos Prates is out to shake things up and make a statement of his own.
It’s a matchup packed with high stakes, serious talent, and plenty of bad intentions. Before the cage door closes and the fists start flying, we’re taking a closer look at everything riding on this clash—because when these two hungry title contenders collide, the fireworks are almost guaranteed.
Garry, ranked No. 7, is eager to rebound from his first professional loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310, where he went the distance in a hard-fought battle. Known for his sharp striking and confidence, Garry aims to reaffirm his status as a top contender.
Garry has also been miffed about the UFC choosing Jack Della Maddalena to be the challenger for the champion Belal Muhammad’s welterweight title at UFC 315 and has expressed as much publicly.
Across the Octagon, No. 13-ranked Prates brings a formidable challenge. With an 11-fight win streak, including four consecutive UFC knockouts, Prates has quickly made a name for himself as a dangerous striker.
His recent victories over Neil Magny and Li Jingliang have been a testament to his knockout power and earned him multiple Performance of the Night bonuses. He will look to continue that streak when he steps into the octagon against Garry this weekend.
Carlos Prates vs Ian Garry: Purse
Garry‘s base purse is reportedly up to $400K, but with a $50K bonus and an additional $21K from sponsorships, his total earnings could climb to around $471K.
Unfortunately, unlike his previous fight with Rakhmonov at UFC 310, Garry will not have the benefit of PPV points to significantly boost his payday.
Meanwhile, for his fight against Neil Magny at UFC Vegas 10, he had reportedly made a guaranteed $350K for his base purse.
So, he is also looking at a solid payday for UFC on ESPN 66, with his purse reportedly being of a similar range. If things go his way and he picks up both a Performance of the Night and Fight of the Night bonus, that number could jump to around $450K. Not a bad night at the office if it all lines up.
Anthony Smith returns for another big payday
Smith is a seasoned veteran who pulled around $200,000 just to show in his last fight against Dominick Reyes at UFC 310.
For UFC on ESPN 66, he’s likely looking at a similar base purse in the low six figures (roughly $200K guaranteed to step into the cage). If he wins, that pay would roughly double ($400K), since UFC contracts are said to typically include an equal win bonus.
On top of that, there’s the standard $50,000 performance bonus up for grabs for a highlight-reel finish, plus some extra sponsorship incentive pay. All told, “Lionheart” could be looking at a payday in the neighborhood of $450,000 or more with a victory. But since this isn’t a pay-per-view event, there are no PPV points to factor in.
Meanwhile, Giga Chikadze pocketed roughly $100,000 in his last outing (a win at UFC Singapore in 2023). He can expect a similar deal: a base purse in the high five figures (around ~$50K-$75K to show, with a matching win bonus in that range if he gets the W).
Should “Ninja” Giga get the win, that would put him around the low six figures again, and a spectacular performance could tack on an extra $50K bonus.
Add in a few thousand from UFC sponsorship payouts, and Chikadze’s take-home could land somewhere around $150,000-$200,000 for a successful night, in line with his recent earnings (with no pay-per-view cut for this ESPN card).
