Ian Machado Garry claims he ‘chose’ not to finish a common opponent between him and Carlos Prates.
The Irish welterweight contender has gone the distance in his last four fights, experiencing his first loss his last time out against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310.
Coming in on short notice, Ian Machado Garry looks to rebound in the main event of UFC Kansas City this Saturday across from devastating knockout artist Carlos Prates, who apparently isn’t a fan of Machado Garry’s ‘boring’ fighting style.
Machado Garry delivered a bonus-winning headkick KO of Daniel Rodriguez in May 2023 and ever since, it’s been decision after decision for the 27-year-old, which all started with a three-round beatdown of perennial contender Neil Magny.
Embed from Getty ImagesUnlike Carlos Prates, Ian Machado Garry ‘chose not to finish’ Neil Magny
Prates smoked Neil Magny inside of a round at UFC Vegas 100 last November for his tenth-straight KO.
The Fighting Nerds star was critical of Machado Garry’s inability to finish Magny on one leg during their fight at UFC 292.
Machado Garry says Magny was a shell of his former self when he fought Prates, having been dominated by him in 2023 and also by Michael Morales for a first-round TKO, a few months prior to UFC Vegas 100.
“Neil Magny is my son now,” Machado Garry said of Prates’ latest victory in an interview with UFC.com.
“I took his manhood. It’s in my back pocket.
“If you watch that fight, he hasn’t been the same since.
“The entire world knows the level difference between Neil Magny and me because I obliterated him. 30-24 was the scorecard, I believe.
“I chose not to finish that man,” Machado Garry continued. “I walked through him with ease and on Saturday night, I’m gonna do the exact same thing to Carlos Prates.”
Ian Machado Garry enjoys ‘mental warfare’ from longer fights
Dreaming of a five-round domination of Prates, Machado Garry details his unique approach to the fight game.
Everybody loves a good knockout and so does Machado Garry with seven on his resume. However, what Machado Garry really fancies is proving he’s levels above his opponents and having fun while he’s at it.
“I don’t want short fights,” Machado Garry explained.
“I don’t wanna go and just knock someone out. I enjoy the mental warfare of beating someone up for twenty minutes. If this is my choice and I could ride it out perfectly, I’d wanna dog-walk the guy for twenty four minutes and finish him in the last minute. That’s the type of person I am.
“I don’t want someone ever having an excuse of, oh, it was just a lucky kick. What happened about this twenty four minutes prior then? That’s my attitude.
“When you look at a fight like Max Holloway versus Justin Gaethje, that’s the type of fight I like. That’s a fight…”
Machado Garry continued.
“You walk out and you just knock someone out? Great. Cool. Good job.
“I wanna have fun,” Machado Garry said of his attitude towards fighting.
“I wanna go out there and prove that whoever I step in that Octagon where I’m levels above. And Saturday night, it’s a case of how long can he last.”
Ian Machado Garry nearly finished the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov in his last fight at UFC 310, attempting a rear-naked choke in round 4 but was unable to close the show.