Prates looks to continue hot streak

Carlos Prates will look to continue his hot streak when he faces Ian Machado Garry in the welterweight main event of UFC on ESPN: Machado Garry v Prates, set for the T-Mobile Centre in Kansas, Missouri, on the morning of Sunday 27 April 2025.

Prates (21-6) has put together an 11-match winning run (including four in the UFC since the start of 2024) in his MMA career, most recently finishing the highly-regarded Neil Magny in the first round in a clash in November.

‘The Nightmare’, a 31-year-old Brazilian, should have faced Geoff Neal at UFC 314, but injury for the latter scrapped the match, allowing this clash against Machado Garry to become the headliner for an event later in April.

Machado Garry (15-1) will be looking to bounce back after suffering his first career defeat last time out, losing via unanimous decision to Shavkat Rakhmonov in December at UFC 310.

‘The Future’, a 27-year-old Irishman, accepted this fight on short notice and is excited to face Prates in a main event which replaced a light heavyweight match between Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree Jr.

“I’m excited,” Machado Garry said. “Why? The UFC go, ‘Ah, we need someone. Who do we need? Who do we call?’ You call me. Why? Because I’m a real fighter who wants to fight the best in the world.

“I’m going to show everybody how good I am. Carlos Prates is awesome, but this is my world. I love to fight. There’s nothing more I love in this world than fighting.”

The rest of the main card sees Anthony Smith and Zhang Mingyang meet in the light heavyweight division; Giga Chikadze takes on Uganda’s David Onama in a featherweight fight; and a trio of middleweight matches pits Michel Pereira against Abusupiyan Magomedov, Ikram Aliskerov against Andre Muniz, and Randy Brown against Nicolas Dalby.

UFC ON ESPN: Machado Garry v Prates – Main card

- Main event: Welterweight: Ian Machado Garry v Carlos Prates

- Light heavyweight: Anthony Smith v Zhang Mingyang

- Featherweight: Giga Chikadze v David Onama

- Middleweight: Michel Pereira v Abusupiyan Magomedov

- Middleweight: Ikram Aliskerov v Andre Muniz

- Welterweight: Randy Brown v Nicolas Dalby