Ian Machado Garry got back to winning ways tonight at UFC On ESPN 66 with a unanimous decision victory over Carlos Prates in the main event.
Round One
The welterweight main event is underway in Kansas City!
Cautious start as both men size each other up from just out of striking range. Low kick for Prates. Kick from Garry too. Inside leg kick for Prates.
Jab from Garry. Head kick attempt from the Irishman is blocked. Body kick for him. Another head kick attempt from Garry is blocked.
Push kick for Garry. He goes in for a takedown, but Prates manages to stuff that and get back to striking range.
Jab for Garry and then another. Prates remaining patient for now. He lets a left hand go but it doesn’t connect. Garry tries another head kick that is blocked again.
Jab and then movement from Garry. Prates with a right hand. Garry with a punch now. Prates misses on a left hook attempt. Garry’s latest head kick is blocked.
Prates suddenly slips late in the round and Garry drops down some solid punches while standing over him to seal the first round in his favor.
Round Two
Body kick for Garry. Prates thinks about a spinning kick but doesn’t commit to it. Jab for Garry. Another body kick for Garry. Now he ducks in for a single-leg, but Prates shows good takedown defense to shut that down.
Low kick for Prates. He does so again and Garry counters with a head kick that’s blocked again. Jab for Prates. Oblique kick from Garry.
Inside leg kick for Prates. Another head kick attempt from Garry. Prates loads up on a couple of strikes, but Garry keeps his head out of the way.
Prates clinches up but only briefly. Low kick from Garry. He partially lands a body kick as Prates tries to grab it.
Inside leg kick from Prates. Solid right hand gets through for Garry. Glancing left hand from Prates. Single-leg attempt from Garry, but Prates almost reversed that before opting to stand back up.
Prates clinches and presses Garry into the cage. Garry breaks free quickly. Low kick from Garry. Now a head kick that seemed closer to getting through and follows up with punches.
Body kick from Garry. Wheel kick attempt from Garry in the final 10 seconds of the round, but Prates steers clear of it. Sweeping low kick from Garry at the end of the round.
Round Three
Body kick for Prates to start the third round. We’ve still not really seen too much from him in the fight so far though. Another solid mid-kick from him again, higher up this time.
Garry with a body punch. Garry tries for the head kick yet again. Inside leg kick for Garry. Now a body kick. Garry tries for a single-leg again, but Prates escapes.
Body punch for Garry. Head kick is blocked again. Prates just misses with a head kick. Garry presses forward with a series of punches including a nice uppercut.
Jabs exchanged. Garry drives into a takedown and lands it this time. He’s in Prates guard with two minutes remaining. Garry postures up then moves to side control. Prates stands against the cage. They jockey for position in the clinch and it’s Prates who presses Garry into the cage now.
Back to striking range now. Prates with a nice punch. They both exchange at close range without landing cleanly. Missed punch from Prates enables Garry to time another takedown. Prates stands up next to the cage and Garry clinches his back in the final seconds of the round.
Round Four
Heading into the final rounds Prates likely needs a finish, but it remains to be seen if he’ll show any urgency to do so.
Body kick for Prates. Right hand from Garry. A couple of light punches from the Irishman. He ducks under a punch and goes for a takedown, but Prates escapes that one well.
Latest head kick attempt from Garry and then straight into a takedown attempt. He has to battle for it, but does manage to bring Prates down. Prates quickly up to his knees though and stands.
Garry drags him back down to the mat. Prates to a knee and back up again. Prates pushes Garry away. Head kick attempt from Garry.
Leg kick for Garry. Now a lead right. Right hand from Prates. Glancing right hook from Garry. Now an inside leg kick. Prates walks into a stiff punch from Garry that snapped his head back for a moment.
Garry attempts a takedown that’s blocked. Glancing punches from Garry. Knee to the body from Prates. Left hand from Prates and then a heavier one behind it that lands clean and bloodies Garry’s nose. Garry smiles at him though and has to avoid a head kick attempt. Garry attempts a takedown late in the round.
Round Five
Final round and it’s only in the latter stages of the last round that Prates finally came to life. Let’s see if he can continue that momentum.
Body kick for Prates. Jab from Garry. Now Garry circles on the outside. Prates lands a strike and threatens with a kick. Garry tries for a takedown, but doesn’t commit to it.
Right hand lands for Prates. Garry in on a single-leg attempt, but Prates fights that off and Garry settles for clinching up. Prates breaks away.
Left hand lands for Prates. Head kick attempt from Prates is blocked. Jab for Garry. Left hand from Prates. Body kick for Prates. Jab for Garry.
Body kick from Garry. Prates presses forward with punches but Garry catches him with a right hand that gets a smile of acknowledgement from Prates.
Garry clinches up against the cage and tries for a single-leg. Prates fends that off. Garry with a few punches as Prates covered up.
Prates just misses with a head kick. Garry goes for a takedown and lands it, but Prates immediately rolls on top. He lands a solid punch. A couple more connect. Another drops down and Garry scrambles away towards the cage. Prates lands more good ground-and-pound.
Garry trying to get away, but Prates not letting him. More punches land and Garry seems a bit dazed and is just trying to survive late in the round. He manages to get back to his feet and ticks down the final seconds of the fight.
Decision
Garry got the better of the striking action for much of this fight, with Prates rarely choosing to engage until deep into the fight when he bloodied Garry’s nose with a hard punch in the fourth round and then landed some heavy ground-and-pound strikes in the final five minutes. It proved to be too little too late however, with Garry having already done enough to secure a unanimous decision victory (48-47 x2, 49-46).
