Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

UFC main event gets personal as Carlos Prates roasts Ian Garry

Originally posted on MMA on SI | By Mathew Riddle | Last updated Apr 21, 2025 3:27 PM ET

UFC Kansas City headliners Ian Machado Garry and Carlos Prates are heating up, as 'The Nightmare' fires back after being called a quitter.

Garry branded Prates a 'quitter' earlier in the month, citing some of Prates' losses early in his MMA career. The Fighting Nerd's standout has six professional defeats, one of which was effectively a retirement.

Now riding an eleven-fight winning streak, Prates has had a meteoric rise in the UFC, achieving main event status in five fights. He's keen to remind Garry that they've taken very separate paths to stardom.

Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

'I chose him' ... Carlos Prates blasts Ian Garry for talking trash

Speaking on the MMA Hoje podcast, Prates went scorched Earth on Garry's UFC career.

"I've been in the company [UFC] for a year," Prates said. "Two main events, four bonuses, four knockouts. I think this kid has been in the UFC for about four years, he's never had a main event.

"He won one bonus I think. . . A bunch of decisions there, a f****** boring fighter. . . . He's fighting in the main event 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."

Prates is correct regarding Garry's main event status and bonus-earning potential. 'The Nightmare' has benefited from activity and a fan-pleasing style. Garry marred his streak with back-to-back decisions over top fighters Michael Page, Geoff Neal, and Neil Magny.

Despite this, 'The Future' has full faith he ends Prates' momentum this weekend.

"I'm the most elite welterweight on the planet," Garry told Ariel Helwani. "If this man thinks he's as good as he is . . . [When he fights me] that's his do-or-don't time, and I promise you . . . Every time I step in that Octagon, I look phenomenal. . . . I feel it in my heart. See it every time I close my eyes. I'm going to finish this guy."