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 

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Smith had fought for light heavyweight gold (opposite Jon Jones), headlined over a half-dozen UFC cards, and become one of the longest-serving veterans in the UFC’s light heavyweight division.

He entered his final bout the underdog against China’s Zhang, but that was no surprise given one fighter was at the tail end of his career, and the other starting out.

Mingyang fired a side kick to the midsection early, a kick he would return to moments later. Between those attacks the pair exchanged punches over the top; a minute in, they clinched up after another exchange, Mingyang firing a knee in the clinch. Smith reversed, getting Mingyang’s back to the fence. Coming off it, they’d do some hand fighting in close, Smith controlling wrists and firing an elbow, then another. Yet it was Smith getting split open, as Mingyang was firing offense in kind. And Mingyang’s elbows were equally if not more nasty. Soon, Smith was pawing at his eye as the blood trickled into it. Mingyang closed the distance for more, and Smith changed levels, only to have a takedown attempt stuffed. Smith would then try to drag the Chinse fighter into his guard; Zhang just barely missed an illegal kick.

Smith appeared to be fading in the final 90 seconds, bleeding badly, on his knees, and taking damage as Mingyang landed elbow after elbow. With the ref hollering “move Anthony” repeatedly, Mingyang kept smashing away, several blows hitting the back of the head. The ref either didn’t see them, or didn’t consider them illegal, eventually waving off the fight. After the loss, Smith flipped off someone in the crowd and moved to the fence, Zhang Mingyang trying to restrain him.

Cooler heads prevailed, and Mingyang got the celebrate the biggest win of his career. Smith, meanwhile, wraps up a solid run that, while it didn’t produce gold, left him a household name and one of the more recognizable faces at 205lbs.

Hanging it up! Thank you for everything, Anthony Smith! 🤍🦁 pic.twitter.com/5fvGDDXH4m

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) April 27, 2025

Official Result: Zhang Mingyang def. Anthony Smith by TKO (elbows), Round 1, 4:03

The post UFC Kansas City: Zhang Mingyang TKO’s Anthony Smith in Lionheart’s Retirement Fight appeared first on Cageside Press.

Zhang knows how important the fight is to Smith, but also to himself.

“I think a win over Anthony Smith this Saturday will bring my career into another level,” Zhang told reporters on Wednesday.

“A higher level, but to me, after this fight just keep working. Keep moving. Never stop.”

Zhang (18-6) comes into the fight with two consecutive victories over Brendson Ribeiro and Ozzy Diaz respectively. He expects Smith, who has said publicly this will be his final professional MMA fight, to come for the win.

“Anthony needs a perfect retirement fight. He wants to win, and to me, I also need a win. I need to show the world what I can do in the octagon. Both of us need this fight. It’s going to be an amazing fight,” he said.

A win over a former title challenger and longtime UFC veteran could bring Zhang into the rankings. He’s not picky on opponents as long as they have a number next to their name.

“I would like to fight whoever. Top 15, top 10, top 5. Even the champ. If he would take the fight. Anywhere, anytime,” said Zhang.

“I just want more fights, more wins, to show myself.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Mingyang Zhang above. He takes on Anthony Smith at UFC Kansas City on Saturday night.

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Prates comes from the Fighting Nerds, one of the hottest fight camps in recent years, while Ireland’s Machado Garry has long been working his way up the 170lb division. While coming off a setback against Shavkat Rakhmonov, Garry should get some credit for taking that match-up on short notice after Belal Muhammad dropped out of UFC 310.

Also set for this Saturday’s UFC Kansas City card is the retirement fight of longtime UFC vet Anthony “Lionheart” Smith. Having gone all the way to a fight with Jon Jones for the UFC‘s light heavyweight title, Smith was wrapping up his career against China’s Zhang Mingyang.

Weigh-ins for UFC Kansas City take place Friday; full results can be found below.

UFC Kansas City: Machado Garry vs. Prates Weigh-In Results

Main card

Welterweight: Ian Machado Garry (171) vs. Carlos Prates (170)
Light Heavyweight: Anthony Smith (206) vs. Zhang Mingyang (206)
Featherweight: Giga Chikadze (147)* vs. David Onama (146)
Middleweight: Michel Pereira (186) vs. Abusupiyan Magomedov (185.5)
Welterweight: Randy Brown (171) vs. Nicolas Dalby (171)
Middleweight: Ikram Aliskerov (185.5) vs. André Muniz (185.5)

Preliminary card

Flyweight: Matt Schnell (126) vs. Jimmy Flick (126)
Lightweight: Evan Elder (156) vs. Gauge Young (156)
Featherweight: Chris Gutiérrez (146) vs. John Castañeda (146)
Bantamweight: Da’Mon Blackshear (135.5) vs. Alateng Heili (136)
Bantamweight: Malcolm Wellmaker (135) vs. Cameron Saaiman (135)
Women’s Strawweight: Jaqueline Amorim (116) vs. Polyana Viana (115.5)
Featherweight: Timothy Cuamba (146) vs. Roberto Romero (145)
Women’s Bantamweight: Chelsea Chandler (134) vs. Joselyne Edwards (136)

*Missed Weight

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Smith (37-21) will have his last fight in a city he loves to visit against an opponent that is no slouch. It was by design according to Smith.

“I’m happy that he’s as tough as he is because I would have felt weird coming in here fighting the ghost of somebody else. I didn’t want an easy fight,” Smith told reporters on Wednesday.

“I never asked for an easy fight. So I’m happy that it’s a guy that’s likely going to go on, win or lose, to have an incredible run and career in the UFC. I think it’ll age well when it’s all said and done.”

Smith put up a 13-11 record in the UFC. which many would scoff at until you see who he fought against. In his time in the promotion he fought the likes of Shogun Rua, Rashad Evans, Volkan Oezdemir, Alexader Gustafsson, Hector Lombard, Glover Teixeira, Jiri Prochazka, Khalil Rountree, and his lone title shot agains the greatest of all time, Jon Jones.

So how would the 205er and long-time UFC vet want to be remembered? Simple. He was a man of effort.

“Just my effort. I tried so f*cking hard. Whether you’re sitting at home being the couch quarterback ‘well if I was in there this is what I would have done’…I f*cking tried really hard,” he said.

“I tried really hard. I’ve never been the best athlete in the world, never been the best striker, never been the best grappler or the best wrestler. No one’s ever said that, but I made it to the very, very peak in this sport off of just good old fashioned f*cking try hard.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Anthony Smith above. He takes on Mingyang Zhang at UFC Kansas City on Saturday night.

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One such moment has arrived, as the UFC, WWE, and Professional Bull Riding (PBR) have been announced for the “TKO Takeover,” a trio of events that will take place across a five-day span in Kansas City, Missouri.

The takeover begins with a PBR event on April 24 (a Thursday night, but close enough to the weekend). The UFC will then host its Fight Night event at the T-Mobile Center on Saturday, April 26, followed by a broadcast of Monday Night RAW on April 28 from the same venue.

Ticket bundles providing access to all three events will be available to fans. Tickets go on sale March 3, 2025.

“Kansas City has collectively hosted dozens of UFC, WWE, and PBR events over the years, and it has become a top destination for each of these respective promotions,” said Peter Dropick, Executive Vice President, Event Development and Operations for TKO. “This is a unique opportunity to showcase these three premier properties in one city at the same time for the benefit of fans and visitors to the area. We thank the Kansas City Sports Commission and the management at T-Mobile Center for making this possible.”

UFC Kansas City, set for April 26, is headlined by Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree Jr. in a light heavyweight fight. Anthony Smith is also booked on the card in what is expected to be his retirement fight, against Zhang Mingyang. Promotion officials announced the main card on Wednesday.

The event currently includes the following reported bouts:

• Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.
• Michel Pereira vs. Abusupiyan Magomedov
• Giga Chicadze VS. David Onama
• Ikram Aliskerov vs. André Muniz
• Polyana Viana vs. Jaqueline Amorim
• Ahmad Sohail Hassanzada vs. Mitch Ramirez
• Malcolm Wellmaker vs. Cameron Saaiman
• Zhang Mingyang vs. Anthony Smith
• Joselyne Edwards vs. Chelsea Chandler
• Matt Schnell vs. Jimmy Flick

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Smith, a near 60-fight veteran of the sport, had thrown a wrench in the works when he missed weight on Friday, by a pound and a half. He did weigh in a second time, successfully making weight at 205.5lbs, but how drained “Lionheart” was would be a question in the fight.

On top of that, Smith was also reeling from the loss of coach Scotty Morton, who passed away suddenly this year. Morton had been a driving force in Smith’s fighting career since he was 17.

Anthony Smith attempted a takedown early, but Reyes fended it off. An eye poke by Smith forced a momentary stoppage in the action. Once Reyes’ eye recovered, the two got back to trading on the feet. With both were taking wild swings at each other, Smith landed a good right hand. Reyes answered by putting the pressure on Smith and fired an uppercut to left hand combination. Reyes then landed multiple consecutive jabs and left hands and Smith stuck out his tongue while retreating, inviting more strikes from Reyes. This last sequence gave Reyes the round after a relatively even back and forth in the first four and a half minutes.

Once again, Smith attempted a single-leg takedown early in the second round. Reyes successfully defended the takedown and landed brutal elbows while Smith was holding onto the leg. The accumulation forced Smith to his knees, but he refused to let go of the leg and Reyes kept pounding away. With “Lionheart” holding on for dear life, Reyes worked his way to the back and used the position to take a couple deep breaths before resuming his ground and pound. The lack of defence from Smith gave Marc Goddard no choice but to stop the fight in the dying seconds of the round.

After the loss, a visibly emotional Anthony Smith took his gloves off and told Joe Rogan this was probably his last walk to the octagon. He felt unsure he could keep fighting after losing his best friend and coach during training camp.

Official Result: Dominick Reyes def. Anthony Smith by TKO, Round 2, 4:46

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Smith just wants to break something.

“I don’t give a f*ck about winning and losing. I just got some things I want to accomplish and if I accomplish those things I win,” Smith told reporters including Cageside Press on Wednesday.

“It’s not like I’m not going to try to win. I’m just saying I’m just not focused on the wins and the losses.”

Smith (37-20) enters professional fight number 58 coming off a loss to Roman Dolidze at UFC 310. Coming off a loss has made Smith more focused on what he’s trying to make happen in the fight and not the result itself.

“I think a lot of times people get obsessed with the wins and losses and then you start protecting things when you’re in there. There’s definitely been times where I’ve been focused on trying to just get a win that I end up trying not to lose,” Smith said.

“I’m just done with that sh*t. I don’t have that much longer left here so I’m just going to in and have some fun.”

“I need to destroy something. That’s why I’m here. It might be myself. Like maybe I run into a f*cking buzzsaw and leave not the same way I came here and I’m good with that too,” he said.

“I went to fight Alexander Gustafsson right after I fought Jon Jones and I didn’t go there to win either. I wanted to punch someone in the face because I felt so sh*tty about losing the title fight. Saturday I want to f*cking break something. I don’t give a f*ck about winning. At all. Not even a little bit. I want to f*cking break something.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Anthony Smith above. He takes on Dominick Reyes at UFC 310 on Saturday night. 

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The light heavyweight showdown has been lined up for what is expected to be the final UFC PPV of 2024. Though not officially announced, the card is likely slated for the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

MMA Mania was first to report news of the match-up.

Reyes has been on the radar of Anthony Smith for a while, with “Lionheart” name-dropping him during his UFC Moncton post-fight scrum back in 2018, speaking with Cageside Press and other media outlets.

“I don’t want any of these idiot 205’ers that are ranked in the division, like your, nothing against Dominick Reyes but I can see it now, as soon as I get home on Monday, they’re going to be calling for a fight,” Smith said at the time. “I already said that I needed a break, and they’re going to use this as an opportunity to say that I’m turning fights down.”

Since that night in 2018, Smith (38-20) went on to lose a lopsided decision to Jon Jones in a title bid, suffered a TKO loss at the hands of Glover Teixeira that had some questioning his fighting future, but later went on a three fight win streak in 2020/21 that seemed to right the ship.

In more recent times, Anthony Smith is 2-2 in his last four, and coming off a loss to Roman Dolidze.

As for Dominick Reyes, he hit his own rough patch from 2020 to 2022, losing his own title shot against Jones and amassing four straight losses. Also coping with injuries, Reyes finally returned to the win column in June when he knocked out Dustin Jacoby.

No other fights have been reported for UFC 310 on December 14, 2024.

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Jiri Prochazka

Jiri Prochazka was KO’d in the opening seconds of the second round of his main event title fight against Alex Pereira.

The #1 ranked UFC light heavyweight fighter has now lost to Alex Pereira twice and has been finished in both attempts. He’s 1-2 since taking the belt from Glover Teixeira in 2022. Jiri remarked (thru a post on X) after UFC 303’s main event,

“I need to evolve to the next level. Or don’t fight again.”

The perfect matchup for Jiri would be against the #3 ranked heavyweight, Jamahal Hill.  Hill sustained a knee injury that forced him off of UFC 303. But his most recent fight was at UFC 300 when he was finished in the first round by Alex Pereira. That is the fight to make as Hill will be anxious to hop right back into the mix after his untimely injury. And Jiri is itching to prove himself and continue to improve as he stated.

Jiri’s next fight: Jamahal Hill

Dan Ige

Dan Ige lost a unanimous decision to Diego Lopes in the co-main event of UFC 303. Diego’s original opponent, Brian Ortega, withdrew from the fight, day of, citing an illness.  Ige valiantly answered the call mere hours before the bout, to step in and save the card. Needless to say, Ige’s stock was raised despite the defeat.

Ige, the #13 ranked UFC featherweight fighter, should be rewarded.  But not just with the opportunity to fight in the co-main event slot of a PPV card in International Fight Week. His next fight should be against another big named opponent.

Ige was supposed to fight Chepe Mariscal on July 20 and it looks like that is still the plan. Chepe is 3-0 in the UFC since his debut last June. However, a fight against former UFC bantamweight champion and #8 ranked featherweight fighter, Aljamain Sterling, could also make sense. Sterling won his featherweight debut in April at UFC 300 against a returning Calvin Kattar. And in the post-fight press conference Sterling set his sights on Brian Ortega.

So, it could be a fight for Ige that could make sense especially if he gets an impressive victory against Mariscal.

Ige’s next fight: Chepe Mariscal/ Aljamain Sterling

Anthony Smith

Anthony Smith lost a unanimous decision on Saturday to Roman Dolidze. Smith is now 13-10 in the UFC and has lost three of his last five fights.

Smith is the #10 ranked UFC light heavyweight, while Dolidze came into the fight as the #10 ranked middleweight, as a last second replacement. It seems like Smith has fought nearly everyone in the division so there are only a few fights that make sense for ‘Lionheart.’

Smith hasn’t faced #14 ranked light heavyweight, Alonzo Menifield or #15 ranked light heavyweight, Azamat Murzakanov. The pair are slated to fight on August 3rd. Murzakanov is 3-0 in the UFC with a pair of finishes and Menifield recently had his five-fight unbeaten streak snapped by Carlos Ulberg.

Anthony’s next fight: Alonzo Menifield vs. Azamat Murzakanov winner

Mayra Bueno Silva

Mayra Bueno Silva lost to Macy Chiasson on Saturday when their fight was stopped in the second round due to a nasty gash from an elbow. With the result, Myra is winless in her last three fights. She is the #3 ranked UFC women’s bantamweight falling to Macy Chiasson who came into the fight ranked at #7.

This fight was a banger for as long as it lasted, and also a huge fight for a women’s bantamweight division that has been ‘relatively’ quiet this year. For that reason, a rematch with Macy Chiasson should be what’s next for Mayra. Not to mention Mayra’s dramatic protest to the stoppage, in a perfect world, it looks like a fight she’d be very interested in running back.

Mayra’s next fight: Macy Chiasson

Michael Page

Michael Page lost a competitive unanimous decision to Ian Garry to open the main card of UFC 303.

‘MVP’ is now 1-1 in the UFC, but 37 years old. With that fact in mind, it would be advantageous to make the fun fights now, rather than later. Page entered the fight the #14 ranked UFC welterweight while Garry was ranked at #7.

Michael Page has a fantastic point karate style that entertains fans and bewilders his opponents. It’s very similar to long time UFC fighter and fan favorite Stephen Thompson. ‘Wonderboy’ who is the #9 ranked UFC welterweight has stated previously that he is very interested in striking only matchups. And at 41 years old and with his most recent outing being a loss to undefeated contender, Shavkat Rakhmonov, a fight like this couldn’t come at a better time.

Michael’s next fight: Stephen Thompson

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