UFC welterweight contender Carlos Prates didn’t need to wait long to get a new fight booked after he was forced off of UFC 314.
Carlos Prates might not get the pay-per-view spotlight in his next UFC booking, but he gets the next best thing: a UFC Fight Night main event and a huge step up in competition.
Prates was supposed to square off with Geoff Neal in a matchup between two UFC fan favorites at UFC 314 later this month. But just weeks before the event, Neal withdrew due to injury, and Prates was removed from the card and not given a short-notice replacement opponent.
Almost immediately after the Neal news broke, Prates teased ‘big news’ incoming regarding his next UFC fight. On Tuesday, we learned what Prates was referencing, and it’s sure to get fans excited.
Jamahal Hill out of Khalil Rountree Jr. headliner due to injury, Carlos Prates replaces vs. surging contender
UFC Kansas City needed a new main event following Jamahal Hill‘s withdrawal from his fight with Khalil Rountree Jr. due to injury. As of this writing, the severity of Hill’s injury is uncertain, and Rountree is expected to get a new opponent for a later date.
Enter Prates, who became available after Neal’s withdrawal, and the UFC-unbeaten contender will face a stiff test in the new UFC Kansas City headliner.
As announced by UFC CEO Dana White on Tuesday night, Prates will face Ian Machado Garry in the new UFC Kansas City headliner on April 26th. Garry hasn’t fought since suffering his first-career defeat to Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 in December, albeit in a short-notice affair.
Prates and Garry will square off in a matchup between two of the UFC welterweight division’s top young talents, with a potential title shot in sight for the UFC Kansas City winner. The two welterweights are also two of the best strikers in the division, as evidenced by some of their recent knockout victories.
Prates passed his first UFC main event test by knocking out Neil Magny with one punch at the UFC Apex in November. Before finishing Magny, Prates defeated the likes of Li Jingliang and Trevin Giles inside the Octagon after earning a contract via Dana White’s Contender Series.
Carlos Prates vs. Ian Machado Garry headlines UFC Kansas City
As for Garry, he’s defeated the likes of Michael ‘Venom’ Page, Daniel Rodriguez, and Magny during his UFC career. Before signing with the UFC in 2021, Garry won the Cage Warriors welterweight championship and solidified himself as potentially the next big Irish megastar.
While Garry hasn’t met astronomical hype and comparisons with Conor McGregor, he has all of the makings of a potential future UFC champion. Garry recently expressed frustration with the UFC passing him up for a title shot against Belal Muhammad, and he’ll likely have a chip on his shoulder against Prates.
UFC Kansas City features Anthony Smith‘s retirement fight, as well as the returns of Ikram Aliskerov, Michel Pereira, and Giga Chikadze.
