Ian Machado Garry is oozing confidence as he takes on a surging contender at UFC on ESPN 66.
Machado Garry (15-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) faces Carlos Prates (21-6 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in the April 26 welterweight main event at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.
Prates has been on a tear since joining the UFC roster, scoring four knockouts and four Performance of the Night bonuses. Machado Garry knows the Brazilian is dangerous but has a gut feeling that he’ll emerge victorious in emphatic fashion.
“I think he’s been successful, I think he’s done very well, and there’s a reason he’s on a 10-fight knockout streak, and fair play to him,” Machado Garry said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “That’s great. I think his team is phenomenal, I love watching his team, I think his team are awesome. They’re having a lot of success at the moment, and they’re a lot of fun to watch. I’m impressed with him to a certain extent. Then I think of him as an opponent and I’m like, ‘Hmm, that’s not going to work out well for you, mate.’
“I’m of the most elite welterweights on the planet. So, if this man thinks he’s as good as he is, and when he steps across the octagon April 26 against me, that’s his do-or-don’t time. I promise you, you’ve seen it from me every time when I step into the octagon, I look phenomenal. And, I promise you right now, I promise you, I feel it in my heart, see it every time I close my eyes, I’m going to finish this guy.”
Machado Garry vs. Prates came together on short notice after the original UFC on ESPN 66 headliner between Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree was scrapped. This will mark the second-straight fight where Machado Garry competes on short notice after he lost a unanimous decision to Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 this past December.
The risk didn’t pay off for Machado Garry last time so, why try it again?
“Is that not what I’m in this sport for?,” Machado Garry responded. “The excitement, the yeah f*ck it, let’s go, let’s have a short notice fight against one of the most dangerous up and comers in the UFC. Let’s do it, why not? That’s the type of things that excite me, that makes me want to go out and prove to the world that I’m the best.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 66.
