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Fight By Fight Preview | UFC Kansas City
Rolling Out The Menu For The Feast Of Fights Set To Take Place This Weekend
By E. Spencer Kyte
Saturday night, the UFC makes its third trip to Kansas City, Missouri, for an event headlined by a fascinating short notice pairing in the welterweight division.
Originally slated to feature a main event clash between ex-light heavyweight titleholder Jamahal Hill and recent title challenger Khalil Roundtree Jr., a lingering leg injury to the former prompted its postponement, opening the door for Ian Machado Garry and Carlos Prates to step up and stand across from one another this weekend.
The welterweight standouts will close out a quality fight card that includes a couple debuts, the return of some ascending names, and the final bout in the career of one Anthony “Lionheart” Smith, who is poised to hang up his gloves, win or lose, following his bout with Zhang Mingyang.
It should be an entertaining night of action in KCMO, and we’re here to lay out what’s on tap this weekend at T-Mobile Center.
Main Event: Ian Machado Garry vs Carlos Prates
Carlos Prates of Brazil prepares to face Li Jingliang of China in a welterweight fight during the UFC 305 event at RAC Arena on August 18, 2024 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
A few weeks after Sean Brady established himself as the clubhouse leader in the chase for the next welterweight title shot and a few weeks before Belal Muhammad defends his title against Jack Della Maddalena, Ian Machado Garry and Carlos Prates will face off in what promises to be a captivating battle between two of the division’s rising stars.
Saturday’s contest marks the second consecutive bout the Irishman has taken on short notice, after stepping in to face fellow unbeaten contender Shavkat Rakhmonov last December when Muhammad was unable to compete at UFC 310. Machado Garry dropped that contest by unanimous decision, but didn’t lose any ground in the rankings, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is every bit the title threat many have long anticipated he would be.
Prates was the top rookie in the UFC last year, rattling off stoppage wins over Trevin Giles, Charles Radtke, Li Jingliang, and Neil Magny to force his way into the rankings and run his overall winning streak to 11. The Fighting Nerds representative is a precision striker, utilizing a variety of attacks and varied targets to keep opponents wondering what’s coming next and where it’s going to land.
This is an outstanding pairing that carries a great deal of significance in the 170-pound ranks, as Machado Garry is currently stationed at No. 7 in the rankings, with Prates six places behind him. There is a great deal of jockeying for position going on in the division at the moment, with more set to happen in the coming months, so a big effort for either man will serve them well as they aim to set themselves up for an even greater opportunity in the back half of the year.
Additional Main Card Matchups
Anthony Smith vs Zhang Mingyang
The co-main event features athletes at opposite ends of their fighting careers, as Anthony Smith makes his final walk to face UFC sophomore Zhang Mingyang.
Smith will step into the Octagon for the 25th and final time on Saturday, hanging up his gloves following an extended career competing on the biggest stage in the sport that saw him challenge for the light heavyweight title in 2019. The 36-year-old, who has made 59 professional appearances, enters on a two-fight skid, and will look to wrap things up with one final victory.
Zhang earned a call to the UFC with a first-round stoppage win in the first bout in Road to UFC history, putting away Tuco Tokkos in just under four minutes. He made a pair of starts last year, finishing both Brendson Ribeiro and Ozzy Diaz, and arrives for his 2025 debut having won 11 straight, all in the first round.
It’s going to be fascinating to see how Smith performs here, given that he’s already made the decision to transition into the next phase of his career following this one. He has a considerable edge in terms of skill and experience, obviously, but “The Mountain Tiger” is a proven finisher with real power, and will be aiming to earn the biggest win of his career on Saturday night.
Giga Chikadze vs David Onama
Giga Chikadze and David Onama face off in this weekend’s lone main card clash in the featherweight division.
It’s been a challenging last couple years for Chikadze, as injuries and unfavorable outcomes have stalled his climb up the divisional ranks. After posting seven consecutive victories to begin his UFC tenure, the 36-year-old Georgian has gone 1-2 over the last three years, sandwiching a win over Alex Caceres between decision losses to Calvin Kattar and Arnold Allen.
Onama cut his teeth competing in Kansas City and the surrounding area, and enters this one on a three-fight winning streak. Now training out of Factory X Muay Thai, the 30-year-old from Uganda is 5-1 in the UFC when competing at 145-pounds, and looks to break into the Top 15 with a victory here.
This contest is a perfect illustration of the depth of talent in the featherweight ranks at the moment, as well as another potential instance where the landscape may change. Chikadze has been a fixture in the Top 15 for the last several years, but a win for Onama would vault him into the rankings and cause a chain reaction down the line, which is something we could see more of in the weeks and months ahead.
Michel Pereira vs Abus Magomedov
Michel Pereira and Abus Magomedov meet in one of two main card fights in the middleweight division scheduled to take place this weekend in Kansas City.
After posting three straight first-round stoppage wins following his move to the 185-pound weight class, Pereira finally ran into serious resistance last time out, landing on the business end of a one-sided drubbing at the hands of Anthony Hernandez. The Brazilian is still 9-3 overall in the UFC and 8-1 over his last nine outings, and will look to kick off his 2025 campaign by getting things moving in the right direction again.
Magomedov appears to be finding his place in the middleweight ranks, having earned consecutive wins in 2024 to move to 3-2 in the UFC. He crushed Dustin Stoltzfus in his promotional debut before dropping consecutive outings to Sean Strickland and Caio Borralho, but has reset himself with a decision win over Warlley Alves and a third-round submission finish of Brunno Ferreira last time out.
Will Pereira get back into the win column and defend his place in the Top 15 or will Magomedov keep rolling, earning a third straight win and potential entry into the rankings?
Randy Brown vs Nicolas Dalby
Veteran welterweights Randy Brown and Nicolas Dalby square off this weekend in what should be a competitive, entertaining affair.
“Rudeboy” has been a resident on the fringes of the Top 15 for the last several years, posting a 7-2 record over the last four years, but faltering in his biggest opportunities. Last time out, the OG Lookin’ for a Fight find dropped a competitive split decision to Bryan Battle.
Dalby is basically the older, Danish version of Brown, having similarly hovered just outside the rankings for much of his second stint in the UFC. The 40-year-old former Cage Warriors champion is 6-2 with one no contest verdict since returning to the Octagon, having landed on the wrong side of a debated split decision loss in a bout with Rinat Fakhretdinov in his most recent appearance.
Each of these men have been pillars of consistency and competitiveness throughout their careers and there is no reason to expect that to change going forward. This is going to be a technical battle between a pair of experienced and talent veterans, and it would not surprise me if it ends up being Fight of the Night.
Ikram Aliskerov vs Andre Muniz
The main card opens in the middleweight division, where Ikram Aliskerov and Andre Muniz will once again attempt to share the Octagon with one another.
Aliskerov went into last year as a dark horse in the 185-pound weight class after earning stoppage wins over Phil Hawes and Warlley Alves to run his record to 15-1. He jumped at the chance to face Robert Whittaker on short notice in June, but got thumped by the former champion, and now looks to reset to start 2025.
Muniz hasn’t competed since halting a two-fight slide with a decision win over JunYong Park at the end of 2023. Once a rising contender in the division, “Sergipano” will look to continue his push to return to the rankings by adding another win to his resume this weekend.
These two were scheduled to face off twice before — first last June, where Muniz was forced out before Aliskerov tagged in to face “The Reaper,” and then again in February, when visa issues scuttled the contest for a second time. Hopefully the third time is the charm because it feels like a well-matched pairing that should tell us a great deal about where each man stands in the division.
Preliminary Card Pairings
Matt Schnell vs Jimmy Flick
Flyweights close out the prelims as Matt Schnell returns to the Octagon to face off with Jimmy Flick.
Schnell announced his retirement following a loss to Cody Durden last year, but answers the siren song of the UFC cage here, looking to snap a three-fight slide. Flick, who pressed pause on his career following a win over Durden a couple years back, looks to get things moving in the right direction again after landing on the wrong side of the cards last time out against Nate Maness.
Evan Elder vs Gauge Young
Evan Elder welcomes recent Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) contestant Gauge Young to the Octagon in this short-notice lightweight pairing.
The 28-year-old Elder has posted back-to-back wins after starting his UFC tenure with back-to-back losses, most recently registering a second-round stoppage win over Darrius Flowers last July in Denver. Young, who lost to Australian prospect Quillan Salkilld last September at the UFC APEX, steps in for Ahmad Hassanzada, looking to build off his second-round stoppage win under the FAC banner in December.
Chris Gutierrez vs John Castaneda
After initially being scheduled to face off on short notice at UFC 313, Chris Gutierrez and John Castaneda will instead share the Octagon here.
Gutierrez has alternated wins and losses over his last four outings, getting the better of Alatengheili and Quang Le, while dropping decisions to Pedro Munhoz and Song Yadong. The 33-year-old Castaneda has gone 4-2 over his last six outings, most recently landing on the wrong side of the scorecards in a bout with unbeaten hopeful Daniel Marcos in June.
Da’Mon Blackshear vs Alatengheili
Submission ace Da’Mon Blackshear looks for his second win of the year, while Alatengheili aims to collect his fourth win in five starts in this preliminary card clash in the bantamweight division.
Blackshear posted a second-round submission win over Cody Gibson in March, moving him to 4-3-1 through his first eight UFC starts. Now in his seventh year on the roster, Alatengheili has quietly gone 5-2-1 over that stretch, proving to be a tough out in the middle of the talent-rich 135-pound ranks.
Malcolm Wellmaker vs Cameron Saaiman
DWCS grads Malcolm Wellmaker and Cameron Saaiman square off here in what should be a fascinating clash of bantamweights looking to make a statement.
The 30-year-old Wellmaker earned his place on the roster with a first-round stoppage win over Adam Bramhald last season, advancing to 8-0 in the process. A member of the DWCS Class of ’22, Saaiman won his first three UFC fights to advance to 9-0 before suffering defeats at the hands of Christian Rodriguez and Payton Talbott in his last two outings.
Jaqueline Amorim vs Polyana Viana
It’s an All-Brazilian battle in the strawweight division as Jaqueline Amorim faces off with Polyana Viana on Saturday night.
Amorim enters on a three-fight winning streak, having earned consecutive finishes over Montserrat Conejo Ruiz, Cory McKenna, and Vanessa Demopoulos. Viana arrives in Kansas City looking to halt a two-fight slide, having been submitted by Iasmin Lucindo and Gillian Robertson in her last two appearances.
Timmy Cuamba vs Roberto Romero
Timmy Cuamba and Roberto Romero meet in a clash of young featherweights searching for their first UFC triumph this weekend.
Cuamba earned a win, but not a contract on Season 7 of Dana White’s Contender Series and has gone 0-2 since getting called up to the big leagues last year, losing to Bolaji Oki and Lucas Almeida, both by decision. Romero took a short notice fight with David Onama late last year, giving a good account of himself under the circumstances at UFC 308 in New York City.
Chelsea Chandler vs Joselyne Edwards
Business kicks off in the bantamweight division, as Chelsea Chandler and Joselyne Edwards make the walk to open the show.
The 34-year-old Chandler has alternated results through her first four UFC appearances andarrives here looking to bounce back after missing weight and falling to Yana Santos last summer. Edwards has also struggled with consistency during her time competing inside the Octagon, having pushed herself one fight to the good with a win over Tamires Vidal in her second appearance of 2024.
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