Carlos Prates is set to take on Ian Machado Garry in the headliner of UFC Fight Night at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, this weekend.
Ahead of the highly anticipated fight, Prates paid a visit to a Major League Baseball game featuring the Kansas City Royals. In a lighthearted video, he had a playful showdown with the beloved mascot, Sluggerrr, which gained significant attention from fans.
Fans React As Prates Faces Off With Mascot Sluggerrr Ahead of UFC Kansas City Main Event
UFC shared a point-of-view video of Prates on Instagram, in which he was trading jabs in a lighthearted manner with Sluggerrr during a recent Kansas City Royals game. The post was captioned, “ROYAL RUMBLE, POV: Your @TheNightmare_170 vs Sluggerrr #UFCKansasCity.”
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The post evoked reactions from several MMA enthusiasts who rushed to the comment section to share their thoughts. One fan jokingly suggested that booking a fight between Sluggerrr and UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad, commenting, “Slugger v Belal book it!”
Another MMA fan humorously proposed a matchup with Jon Jones, commenting, “I’ve seen enough give the Royals mascot Jon Jones!”
One Instagram user expressed admiration for “The Nightmare,” writing “Prates” followed by several fire emojis.
Another fan urged the promotion to host a pay-per-view event in Kansas City, commenting, “Give Kansas City a PPV.”
One fan is eagerly waiting for the announcement of a lightweight title fight between Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev, commenting, “ILIA VS ISLAM ANNOUNCE IT ALREADY.”
“POV: You reach the final boss,” another quipped.
Earlier, the event was headlined by a light heavyweight bout between former champion Jamahal Hill and Khalil Rountree Jr. However, Hill withdrew from the bout, and the fight is now scheduled to take place in June.
Prates was originally slated to fight at UFC 314 against Geoff Neal, but the latter pulled out of the fight. “The Nightmare” was then given the opportunity to headline UFC Fight Night and is now set to face Garry, who took the bout on short notice.
In his recent outing, Prates squared off against Neil Magny in November last year. He delivered a spectacular performance and secured a first-round knockout victory. He has won all of his UFC fights and is yet to taste defeat in the promotion.
Meanwhile, Garry fought Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 in December last year. “The Future” put on a great performance but fell short of getting his hand raised, losing the bout via unanimous decision. This marked the first defeat of his MMA career.