UFC Kansas City boasted 14 fights of high-octane cage fighting action Saturday.
The Fight Night show’s main card featured a special six fights including a main event between two ranked welterweights in Ian Machado Garry and Carlos Prates. In the co-main event, UFC journeyman and former light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith took to the octagon one last time in a rough retirement fight against Zhang Mingyang. Three fights ended with finishes on the main card, and three fights ended with unanimous decisions. A few fighters on the fringe of the rankings lost to unranked opponents on this card- which suggests a rankings shakeup is incoming.
Carlos Prates
Carlos Prates was out-struck in a technical battle against Ian Garry in the main event of UFC Kansas City. Prates dropped Garry near the end of the bout and almost finished the fight.
Carlos had not lost since 2019. The 2023 Contender Series vet was 4-0 with the UFC, four finishes, four bonuses. Huge momentum killer here. Considering that Ian is ranked at #7 in the division compared to Prates ranked at #13- this was a ripe opportunity (Garry is now officially the backup for the upcoming welterweight title fight at UFC 315 following this win). Tough to stomach for Carlos, especially with how this fight ended.
The fight to make here has to be rebooking the Geoff Neal fight. Prates and Neal were supposed to throw down at UFC 314 on April 12, but Neal had to withdraw due to injury. Neal has some lethal hands and Prates just showed that he can be dangerous for the better part of half an hour in the octagon.
Neal is currently ranked at #10 in the division. A fight between these two is guaranteed to be both action packed and violent. Winner would be looking to fight someone in the top five especially if they deliver an impressive finish.
Prates’ next fight: Rebook Geoff Neal fight
Anthony Smith
Anthony Smith was finished in the first round by Zhang Mingyang in what he announced, prior to the fight, would be his final fight. Smith entered the fight ranked at #15 in the light heavyweight division while his opponent was unranked. Smith ends his UFC career after being with the promotion since 2013 and amassing a 13-12 record. The hard-nosed, former title challenger, finished out his stint with the UFC losing four of his last five fights. He currently appears as an analyst on UFC broadcasts.
Smith’s next fight: Retirement
Giga Chikadze
Giga Chikadze dropped a very competitive unanimous decision to David Onama at UFC Kansas City on Saturday. Chikadze missed weight ahead of this fight weighing in at 147lbs. on Friday.
Chikadze entered the bout ranked at #12 in the UFC’s featherweight vision while Onama was unranked. Well Giga can very likely kiss that ranking goodbye. The fighter known as “Ninja” has now lost three of his last four bouts dating back to his all-time scrap against Calvin Kattar in early 2022. Giga, who turns 37 in August, needs to get back on the right track, and fast.
A fight against Sean Woodson could be exactly what the doctor ordered. Woodson was last in action as the feature prelim on UFC 314 opposite of a #14 ranked Dan Ige. Woodson was finished, albeit controversially, in the third round of that fight. A matchup between these two lengthy strikers could make a lot of sense and be a real treat for fans. Not to mention, the timing is great as well. Woodson was riding a 7-fight unbeaten streak before the loss to Ige, so the winner of this fight would likely be one win away from getting a ranked matchup.
Chikadze’s next fight: Sean Woodson
Michel Pereira
Michel Pereira put in an uncharacteristically lackluster and inactive performance against Abus Magomedov on the way to a unanimous decision defeat Saturday. Pereira entered the fight ranked at #14 in the middleweight division while Abus was unranked.
Pereira has now lost two fights in a row after he was finished in the final round of his main event against Anthony Hernandez last October. Before that, Pereira had ripped off an impressive eight-fight win streak. He’s got to get that spark back and he needs a matchup that’ll allow him to go “weapons free.” A fight opposite of “The Action Man,” Chris Curtis, could do just that. Chris is a high output striker that has solid boxing and is never in a boring fight. Curtis is 1-3, 1 NC in his last five fights and really needs a good win. Curtis has a good gas tank, where Michel has historically been weak, but there is a path to victory for him here. Winner of this scrap could be knocking back on the door of the incredibly shallow middleweight rankings. Just depends on the dominance of the victory.
Pereira’s next fight: Chris Curtis
Nicolas Dalby
Randy Brown faceplanted Nicolas Dalby in the second round of a franticly paced fight on the main card of UFC Kannas City on Saturday.
The bout drew Fight of the Night honors, but the reality of this outcome is extremely sobering for Dalby. Nicolas turns 41 later this year and has now lost two in a row. It goes without saying, but welterweight is an extremely talented and deep division. This is just the second time in Dalby’s career where he’s lost two or more fights in a row. A good matchup for Dalby in his next fight will be critical for the trajectory of the tail end of his fight career.
Dalby’s next fight should be against someone in a similar spot in their career which is why the loser of Santiago Ponzinibbio vs Daniel Rodriguez makes a lot of sense. Both men have won their most recent fights but had lost two in a row prior to that. Both fighters also turn 39 years old later this year and are entertaining strikers. Ponzinibbio and Rodriguez are scheduled to fight May 3, so the timing also matches up (especially if there is a finish). Easy book here to determine which aging welterweight is still a very credible threat in a cutthroat division. Losing that fight could potentially result in sparking talks of being cut/retirement.
Dalby’s next fight: Loser of Santiago Ponzinibbio vs Daniel Rodriguez
Andre Muniz
Andre Muniz was dropped and finished by Ikram Aliskerov in the first round to kick of the main card of UFC Kansas City. Very rough for Muniz especially considering he’s been out of action since December of 2023. This matchup had been cancelled twice already both times because of Muniz (withdrew and passport issues). Bottom line is that Andre has lost three of his last four fights and he was finished in all three. Muniz’s only win in that time was a split decision against Jun Yong Park in December 2023.
Muniz is in trouble here. Inactivity is no one’s friend. He needs a good fight and a win, pronto. The perfect dance partner for Andre here would be Christian Leroy Duncan. Duncan, who is 4-2 with the UFC, won his most recent fight last month when he defeated UFC newcomer Andrey Pulyaev by unanimous decision. Duncan has only lost to Armen Petrosyan and Greogory Rodrigues in his UFC (and entire pro) career. This would be a classic striker vs grappler matchup. CLD is looking for that next tier win to validate his skills within the UFC while Muniz is looking to prove he still truly belongs after a rough stretch and inactivity. They both get what they need here. An impressive win in this fight could propel the winner into a real name potentially just outside of the rankings.
Muniz’s next fight: Christian Leroy Duncan
