Paul Felder expects Ian Machado Garry to get preferential treatment from the UFC after stepping up on short notice again.
Machado Garry (15-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) takes on Carlos Prates (21-6 MMA, 4-0 UFC) April 26 in the UFC on ESPN 66 main event at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo. The main event came together on short notice after the original headliner between Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree was scrapped.
Machado Garry didn’t have a fight booked, whereas Prates was already in camp for Geoff Neal at UFC 314 on April 12, before Neal withdrew. This will mark the second-straight time Garry takes a short-notice fight after he was pulled from his UFC on ESPN 63 headliner vs. Joaquin Buckley to face Shavkat Rakhmonov a week earlier in a five-round title eliminator at UFC 310. He lost the bout by unanimous decision.
“I’ve got to give a huge shoutout to Ian Machado Garry for stepping in yet again against a top contender, against a very dangerous opponent like Carlos Prates, who’s just been on a roll since he’s entered the UFC – knocking everybody out, finishing everyone,” Felder told ESPN. “But Ian Garry knows that these are the moments that you have to take advantage of.
“These are the moments that the UFC is going to give you favors later on in your career, is going to try and help push you to the top. You scratch their back, they’ll scratch yours. I love it. He’s showing that he’s got the toughness and is not afraid of anybody in this division.”
Prates has torn through his opposition so far in the UFC, earning Performance of the Night bonuses in all four of his knockout wins – most recently Neil Magny in the UFC Fight Night 247 main event.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 66.
