A welterweight clash between Ian Machado Garry and Carlos Prates has been set as the new main event for UFC Kansas City on April 26.
The UFC announced this fight on Tuesday, without explaining why the original main event featuring Jamahal Hill against Khalil Rountree was cancelled.
Despite the cancellation of Hill vs. Rountree, the UFC quickly arranged a new headliner.
Garry agreed to this fight after a close contest with Shavkat Rakhmonov in December, which was considered a welterweight title contender eliminator. Although Garry lost that fight on points, he gave Rakhmonov his toughest challenge yet. Now, he has the opportunity to rebound against a rapidly emerging talent in the division.
Prates enters this matchup with a perfect record of 4 wins in the UFC, all by knockout in the first or second round. He was initially scheduled to fight Geoff Neal at UFC 314, but Neal had to withdraw due to injury.
Instead of finding Prates a different opponent for that date, the UFC moved him to the main event in Kansas City, where he will now fight Garry.
The Garry vs. Prates fight will headline the event on April 26. Other notable fights on the card include Anthony Smith`s retirement fight against Zhang Mingyang and a featherweight bout between Giga Chikadze and David Onama.
