Ian Machado Garry needed to survive a little bit of a late scare however in the end placed on a masterful efficiency over 5 rounds to close down Carlos Prates within the UFC Kansas City fundamental occasion.
Displaying superior motion and placing all through the battle, Garry simply saved Prates guessing whereas consistently outworking him on the ft. He additionally blended in takedowns that simply by no means allowed Prates to search out a lot rhythm till time was operating out within the battle.
That’s when Prates lastly delivered some damaging photographs of his personal together with some nasty floor and pound within the closing spherical, however it was too little, too late. The judges in the end scored the battle 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46 with Garry securing the unanimous determination victory.
“I understand how harmful that man is,” Garry mentioned about Prates. “I’ve nothing however respect for him. I mentioned it to him after the battle, he’s Brazilian — half of my soul is Brazilian. My title is Machado Garry. I wish to see all these Brazilians go to the highest and that man hits like a truck.”
There was numerous motion from Garry as he appeared to keep away from the ability photographs coming from Prates whereas additionally throwing a bevy of proper excessive kicks to occupy the Brazilian’s lethal left hand. Simply earlier than the primary spherical ended, a slip from Prates put him on the bottom and Garry unloaded a nasty punch that really opened a small lower underneath his eye.
Whereas Garry was settling right into a rhythm and feeling extra snug within the placing exchanges, Prates simply wasn’t producing a lot offense of his personal. Prates simply wasn’t very energetic and that allowed Garry to actually choose and select his photographs together with a tough proper hand and inside elbow that landed clear.
It was a scientific efficiency on the ft from Garry as he simply saved Prates guessing and he even blended in a couple of takedown makes an attempt for good measure. It wasn’t till deep within the third spherical when Prates lastly began throwing a few of his signature kicks however he simply wasn’t doing sufficient harm to actually take Garry out of his recreation.
As he continued shelling out the punishment, Garry linked with a nasty uppercut that snapped Prates’ head again in violent trend. Garry rushed ahead and ended up taking Prates down momentarily, though the grappling trade didn’t final lengthy earlier than the battle received again to the ft once more.
Garry continued mixing within the takedowns however principally it appeared like he was simply attempting to put on on Prates to empty no matter vitality was left in him. The mixtures saved coming from Garry as he put collectively three and 4 strikes in succession whereas Prates was solely firing again with single photographs.
With time ticking away within the fourth spherical, Prates lastly linked with a stiff punch that undoubtedly received Garry’s consideration. It appeared he was wobbled for a second and Prates actually began searching for the ending blows.
That led to a reversal on a takedown try late as Prates started hammering away with some severe energy behind his punches on the bottom however Garry remained elusive because the clock ran out on the Brazilian. Afterwards, Garry said that he was by no means in deep trouble however he additionally needed to be cautious of the form of ending energy that Prates possessed.
“I used to be utterly in management,” Garry mentioned. “I simply needed to be good and protected and never do one thing silly as a result of that may occur in these kind of fights. The man’s a legend. I admire him. He’s been on a tear however I advised everybody what I used to be going to do, I used to be going to outclass him and I consider I did that.”
The win places Garry again on monitor after he misplaced a heartbreaker to Shavkat Rakhmonov this previous December in a No. 1 contender’s bout. Now he’s hoping this win re-establishes him within the division and he’s searching for a visit to Montreal subsequent to maintain an in depth eye on the UFC 315 fundamental occasion between champion Belal Muhammad and challenger Jack Della Maddalena.
“That is what’s subsequent for me,” Garry shouted. “21 days’ discover towards Shavkat [Rakhmonov]. 25 days’ discover towards this man tonight. He’s a beast. Nicely, in two weeks’ time, I’m flying to Canada. I’m the official backup for the world title battle and I’m subsequent in line for that world title!”
