Fight week is heating up in “City of Fountains.”
Red-hot No. 13-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight Carlos Prates makes his first appearance of the year as he takes on top contender Ian Garry in the main event of UFC Kansas City this weekend (Sat., April 26, 2025) from inside T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
The buildup to the fight was largely respectful until Garry labeled Prates a quitter, referencing a 2017 TKO loss in China. “The Nightmare,” fired back the next day: “We’re training hard while Ian Garry’s talking s—t online.”
Garry’s comment was again mentioned in a recent MMA Fighting interview, and Prates unloaded on “The Future.”
“We already expected [him to talk trash]. It’s normal for him to do it,” Prates said. “He probably has a lot of free time. I don’t, brother. All the time, I’m training, doing my stuff, doing interviews, and staying focused on the fight. But that’s part of the game.”
“He’s been in the UFC for four years, if I’m not mistaken, and never headlined a card,” Prates continued. “He only won one bonus, poor guy. And now he has the opportunity to be the main event, an opportunity to make more money.”
In another interview, Prates doubled down and tore into the Irish fighter.
“I’ve been in the company for a year, two main events, four bonuses, four knockouts,” Prates told MMA Hoje. “Garry won one bonus in his life. [He’s won] a bunch of decisions. He’s a f—king boring fighter and he’s fighting in the main event today because I chose him…when he wakes up after the fight, he’ll have to come and say: ‘Thanks, Carlos Prates, you made me some good money.’”
Indeed, Garry’s lone ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus came against Daniel Rodriguez in 2023 (watch here), and his methodical style has drawn criticism in recent years. Prates, known for his explosive finishes, could force an action-packed fight from the once-unbeaten Irishman.
Will Prates deliver? Time will tell.
