The UFC is in Kansas City, Missouri, for Saturday’s UFC Kansas City fight card. The UFC Fight Night event marks the promotion’s first trip to the city since April 2023. UFC Kansas City takes place on Saturday April 26 from T-Mobile Center. The main event sees top-15 UFC welterweights Ian Machado Garry and Carlos Prates face off in what is a pivotal matchup. Meanwhile, in the co-main event, former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith faces Zhang Mingyang in what Smith says is his farewell fight. Below, we look at the odds, picks, and predictions for the UFC Kansas City scrap between Machado Garry and Prates.
UFC Kansas City Fight Card Main Event: Ian Machado Garry Vs. Carlos Prates
Machado Garry (15-1) has an 8-1 record under the UFC banner. The 27-year-old has five decisions and three knockouts. In June 2024, Machado Garry defeated Michael “Venom” Page at UFC 303 to earn his eighth straight win under the UFC banner. However, he tasted defeat in his next outing, dropping a decision to Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310.
Machado Garry initially came across as a Conor McGregor clone, but the confident Irish fighter has found his own personality as a competitor who is more than willing to take on the toughest the competitors the UFC can book him against, something he did again in accepting this fight on short notice.
Machado Garry is the No. 7 ranked UFC welterweight.
Carlos Prates (21-6) joined the UFC in 2023 with a knockout win on a Dana White’s Contender Series card. Since then, the 31-year-old has gone 4-0 with the UFC, winning each of those fights by knockout. Prates also earned performance bonuses for each of his four knockouts. In his most recent outings, Prates scored an August 2024 stoppage of Li Jingliang before moving on to defeat Neal Magny via TKO on a UFC Fight Night Card in November.
Prates is on an 11-fight winning streak overall.
The UFC had Prates booked to face Geoff Neal at UFC 314, but that fight fell apart when Neal withdrew from the contest in late March. With that, Prates was moved to the top of this fight card when Garry agreed to face him on short notice.
Prates is the No. 13 fighter in the UFC’s official 170-pound rankings.
UFC Kansas City Fight Card Main Event: Ian Machado Garry Vs. Carlos Prates Betting Odds And Line Movement
The opening betting odds for the Machado Garry vs. Prates main event saw Machado Garry open as a -125 betting favorite over the +105 Prates. Today, Machado Garry is listed at -130, while Prates is the +110 betting underdog.
UFC Kansas City Fight Card Main Event: Ian Machado Garry Vs. Carlos Prates Tale Of The Tape
Ian Machado Garry
Age: 27
Height: 6’ 3”
Reach: 74”
Stance: Orthodox
Carlos Prates
Age: 31
Height: 6’ 1”
Reach: 78”
Stance: Switch
UFC Kansas City Fight Card Main Event: Ian Machado Garry Vs. Carlos Prates Predictions And Picks
Machado Garry is the more technical striker of the two fighters in the UFC Kansas City main event, and while Prates gets hit a lot, his opponent is not the type of fighter who carries single-strike stopping power into this bout, Prates is that type of fighter. When you add that power to Machado Garry’s somewhat reckless defense, things begin to look dicey for the fighter who accepted this bout on short notice.
I’ll tip my hat to Machado Garry for taking this fight coming off a big loss, that shows a lot of confidence. However, I don’t believe he walks out of T-Mobile Center with the win.
The betting pick is for Carlos Prates to beat Ian Machado Garry by knockout.
UFC Kansas City Fight Card Date:
Saturday, April 26
UFC Kansas City Fight Card Time:
Prelims: 6:00 p.m. ET
Main Card: 9:00 p.m. ET
UFC Kansas City Fight Card Location:
T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, MO
UFC Kansas City Fight Card How To Watch Or Stream:
Prelims: ESPN+
Main Card: ESPN2
We will have more on the UFC Kansas City fight card and the Ian Machado Garry vs. Carlos Prates fight as fight night nears.
