Ian Garry hypes Carlos Prates showdown with retro-style fighter select post
Ian Garry is full of confidence after the UFC gave him a main event spot against Carlos Prates at the promotion's fight night in Kansas City. 'The Future' has been promoting the fight in creative ways.
Khalil Rountree Jr. vs. Jamahal Hill was the original main event for UFC Kansas City. Unfortunately, Hill pulled out due to an injury, and the bout was scrapped. The pairing was earlier scheduled to fight at UFC 303, but Rountree Jr. withdrew from the fight due to a doping violation.
With the promotion opting to make an exciting welterweight fight the main event, Ian Garry shared a retro-themed image featuring himself and Prates, reminiscent of the video games of the 1990s.
Check out Ian Garry's tweet below:
In his last fight, Ian Garry lost to Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310. Rakhmonov was supposed to challenge Belal Muhammad on the PPV but the welterweight champion pulled out and Garry stepped in. The loss also tainted his undefeated record in professional MMA.
As for Carlos Prates, the Brazilian fighter has been undefeated in the UFC. After bagging a contract on Dana White's Contender Series with a knockout, Prates continued the knockout spree in all four of his fights in the UFC. 'The Nightmare also won Performance of the Night bonuses in all those fights.
Ian Garry and Carlos Prates earn respect from veteran MMA analyst
MMA analyst Luke Thomas asserts that the current UFC Kansas City main event of Ian Garry vs. Carlos Prates is better than Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. For context, Hill is a former light heavyweight champion and Rountree Jr.'s last fight was against then-champion Alex Pereira.
The reason why Thomas hailed Garry and Prates is due to the welterweights accepting the fight on short notice. The 45-year-old shared his thoughts about the duo in his recent video on YouTube.
At first, the MMA analyst praised Prates for accepting the fight against Garry soon after his scheduled bout at UFC 314 against Geoff Neal was scrapped.
"Shout out to Carlos Prates. Loses a fight, they offer him another one, and he's like, 'Sure thing, no problem. I'll take on this young gun who's trying to prove himself in this division,'" Thomas said.
Similarly, Garry also accepted the fight on short notice. Moreover, he had also fought Shavkat Rakhmonov on short notice in his previous bout at UFC 314. As a result, Thomas also reserved praise for Garry.
"Young guy who absolutely, whatever else you want to say about him, does not duck the smoke. That's just a fact, folks. You can like it or you can hate it, but there are not many welterweights who are like 'Rakhmonov. On short notice? No problem. Prates on short notice? No problem.' These undefeated guys on short notice? No fu**ing problem. There are just not many guys like that," Thomas said.
Check out Luke Thomas' comments about Ian Garry and Carlos Prates below (25:43):