Ian Garry Exposes Ex-Welterweight Champ’s Bluff a Day After Mocking UFC 319 Winners

A knockout-of-the-year contender wasn’t enough for UFC welterweight Carlos Prates, who delivered a highlight-reel finish of Geoff Neal at UFC 319 on Saturday night. Prates floored the veteran with a brutal spinning elbow, leaving him unconscious on the canvas, before grabbing the mic to call his shot, a bonus and a fight at UFC Rio on October 11, which is set to be headlined by a lightweight clash between Charles Oliveira and Rafael Fiziev. His desired opponent? Former welterweight champion Leon Edwards.

“I think the co-main event in Rio should be Carlos Prates against Leon Edwards,” Prates told Joe Rogan in his post-fight interview. Backstage, he doubled down with reporters, saying, “The first option, of course, is Leon. I’m here to fight the best guys in the world so I can prove I’m the best in the world. Anybody who steps in the cage, I’ll be there.” But Ian Machado Garry, who outpointed Carlos Prates over five rounds when they fought in April, isn’t convinced Edwards will take the bait. Why not?

Carlos Prates’ dream opponent might slip away

Yesterday, Ian Machado Garry took to Instagram to share his thoughts on what the 32-year-old Brazilian contender Carlos Prates wants next. “Prates made a great callout, but I’m confident Leon will turn him down… again,” the 27-year-old wrote in his caption, addressing the growing buzz around a potential clash between Prates and former welterweight champion Leon Edwards.

In a video posted to his account, Garry doubled down on his belief that Edwards won’t take the fight in Rio. “There’s no chance Leon Edwards is saying yes to fight Carlos Prates in Rio,” Garry said. He recalled telling Prates the same thing when they crossed paths in Las Vegas. In Garry’s view, Edwards has long avoided opponents who prefer to strike rather than wrestle. “Leon, his entire career, has been saying how he’s sick of fighting wrestlers. He wants to fight people on the feet. Carlos Prates will stay on the feet with you, and guess what? He’s going to turn it down.”

Garry elaborated further, insisting that Edwards has a pattern of avoiding such matchups. According to him, Edwards prefers wrestling-heavy opponents over dangerous strikers like Prates: “Carlos Prates will stay on the feet with you. And guess what? He’s gonna turn it down. Carlos Prates, I have 0% chance Leon Edwards fights with you in Brazil. He doesn’t like to fight with you. He’s a marathon runner. Every time he’s the champion, he has a belt, he does it. I want to stay on the feet with someone else. Every time I learn a fight, I do it with a wrestler. Now he has a chance. He doesn’t like to fight with you. I’m talking to you right now.” In short, Garry’s message was that Edwards will find a way to avoid standing toe-to-toe with The Nightmare.

Meanwhile, Carlos Prates has little to complain about after earning a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus for his spectacular spinning elbow knockout of Geoff Neal at UFC 319. And even if Edwards, currently ranked No. 4 in the welterweight division, shows no interest in the matchup, another main card winner has already stepped forward.

Michael “Venom” Page told reporters he would welcome a fight with Carlos Prates in Rio. “You’re not hitting me with that spinning elbow, I’m telling you that right now,” Page said at the post-fight press conference. “But yeah, 100 percent, that’s a great fight. If he’s happy, I’ll happily put my hand up, and I would love to go to Brazil.” And even before these two even step into the cage, they already seem to be enjoying their time together instead.

Carlos Prates basks in glory after UFC 319 win

Day before yesterday, UFC on TNT Sports tagged Paradigm Sports on Instagram and shared a clip with the caption, “MVP and Carlos Prates were living it up after their wins at #UFC319 🕺.” In the video, Carlos Prates appeared shirtless, wearing a shiny necklace with a large circular gold locket, paired with long pants. With a drink in one hand, he exchanged handshakes and daps with the 38-year-old, clearly enjoying the celebration.

Michael Page, meanwhile, was dressed in a white sleeveless shirt and beige cargo pants. The two fighters posed for photos, hugged, and shared a few words in each other’s ears, offering fans a glimpse of them enjoying the moment together after their respective victories.

For Page, however, the excitement went beyond the party. Having fought his last two bouts at middleweight due to top welterweights avoiding him, he welcomed the idea of facing the popular Prates back at 170. “One hundred percent,” he said at the UFC 319 post-fight press conference when asked if he was interested. “You’re not hitting me with that spinning elbow, I’ll tell you that now. That’s a great fight, and those are the kind of fights I want. Those are the fights I’m courting on. If he’s happy, I’m happy to put my hand up.” That said, with Carlos Prates’ dominant win, he doesn’t seem to have a shortage of opponents. But what do you think? Who should Carlos Prates fight next?