From the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, top-ranked welterweights battle for supremacy at UFC Kansas City. Seeking to bounce back from his first loss as a professional, Ian Machado Garry aims to halt the meteoric rise of Brazilian knockout artist Carlos Prates. In the UFC Kansas City co-main event, light heavyweight luminary Anthony Smith competes in the final bout of his career when he takes on Zhang Mingyang.
UFC Kansas City Main Event
In the last pay-per-view event of 2024, Machado Garry fought fellow undefeated 170-lb stalwart Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310. Giving “Nomad” the toughest test of his UFC tenure, the Irishman ended up losing a competitive unanimous decision to lose his coveted zero. Despite the setback, however, “The Future” still remains near the top of the list of title contention, and a victory over Prates in the UFC Kansas City main event could be all he needs to catapult himself towards the belt.
After capturing a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2023, Prates embarked on a conquest of devastation upon entering the promotion last February. By the time 2024 was over, “The Nightmare” had won four fights in a row, all of which ended by highlight reel knockout. Seemingly on a crash course for the championship, Prates has all the makings of a dominant pound-for-pound competitor.
UFC Kansas City Co-Main Event
A respected veteran of over 50 fights, Smith has crossed paths with some of the greatest names the 205-lb division has ever seen, like Rashad Evans, Alexander Gustafsson, Glover Teixeira and Jon Jones. Making his last walk to the Octagon, “Lionheart” looks to cap off his incredible time as a martial artist by going out with one more emphatic win in the main event.
At just 26-years old, Zhang has proven to be a hot prospect in the light heavyweight division since arriving in the UFC last year, recording two first round stoppages. Locking horns with his most established opponent to date, the “Mountain Tiger” now stands just one punch away from cementing his place in the top 15 of the weight class.
Here’s How to Watch UFC Kansas City
Online Streaming: You can catch the entire card on ESPN+, but you will need to subscribe in order to do so. Right now, the company is offering a monthly or yearly subscription of $11.99 and $119.99 respectively. For those who want to get more bang out of their buck, there is also the monthly Disney Bundle Deal, which offers ESPN+, Hulu, and Disney+ for $16.99 with included commercials, or $26.99 for no commercials at all.
Start Time and Date: The Preliminaries will begin at 6pm ET, followed by the Main Card at 9pm ET on April 26th.
Bout Order for UFC Kansas City
UFC Kansas City Main Card:
Ian Machado Garry vs. Carlos Prates (Welterweight Main Event)
Anthony Smith vs. Zhang Mingyang (Light Heavyweight Co-Main Event)
Giga Chikadze vs. David Onama (Featherweight)
Michel Pereira vs. Abusupiyan Magomedov (Middleweight)
Randy Brown vs. Nicolas Dalby (Welterweight)
Ikram Aliskerov vs. André Muniz (Middleweight)
UFC Kansas City Preliminaries:
Matt Schnell vs. Jimmy Flick (Flyweight Featured Bout)
Chris Gutiérrez vs. John Castañeda (Featherweight)
Da’Mon Blackshear vs. Alateng Heili (Bantamweight)
Malcolm Wellmaker vs. Cameron Saaiman (Bantamweight)
Jaqueline Amorim vs. Polyana Viana (Women’s Strawweight)
Timothy Cuamba vs. Roberto Romero (Featherweight)
Chelsea Chandler vs. Joselyne Edwards (Women’s Bantamweight)
