What’s next for Ian Machado Garry and Carlos Prates after UFC Kansas City?

The UFC was in Kansas City, Missouri, on Saturday, April 26, for UFC Kansas City. The main event saw welterweight contenders Ian Machado Garry throw down with Carlos Prates.

Garry was coming off a decision loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov in a No. 1 contender fight he took on short notice, which was his first-career loss. Prates, meanwhile, was coming off a KO win over Neil Magny and was 4-0 in the UFC entering this fight.

Ultimately, it was Garry who edged out a decision win as he clearly won the first three rounds but did nearly get finished in the fifth round. Following UFC Kansas City, here is what I think should be next for the welterweight contenders.

Ian Machado Garry

Ian Machado Garry returned to the win column as he looked good against Carlos Prates, as he was able to stick-and-move early on. Although he did get hurt in the fifth round, Garry was able to survive and get a big win. After the win, he announced he’ll be the backup fighter for the UFC 315 main event, which sees Belal Muhammad defending his welterweight title against Jack Della Maddalena.

If Rakhmonov is healthy, he should get the winner of Muhammad-Della Maddalena later this year. With that, Garry will likely need another win. So he should face Sean Brady in a No. 1 contender fight. It can be a Fight Night main event or on a main card of a pay-per-view.

Carlos Prates

Carlos Prates had a chance to get into title contention at UFC Kansas City, but he fell short. Prates showed some lackluster fight IQ in the fifth round, as he should have thrown more as he had a chance to finish Garry.

Prates still is a top-10 welterweight and should be in line for a big fight next time out, despite losing. A logical next fight is to just be rebooked against Geoff Neal, who he was supposed to fight at UFC 314. It’s a top-10 opponent for the Brazilian and a good test to see if he is a top-10 guy.