When their bout in Miami was scuttled, Prates was hustled into a main event assignment opposite Machado Garry in Kansas City, where the Fighting Nerds representative suffered his first UFC loss. He found success in the latter rounds, and the Irishman’s ability to get out to an early lead and avoid Prates’ power should be a growth opportunity for the vaunted finisher, who had won 11 straight, all by stoppage, prior to that defeat.
Jared Cannonier vs Michael Page
From the Department of Intriguing Fights I Never Knew I Needed To See Until Now comes this middleweight clash between Top 10 staple Jared Cannonier and elusive striker Michael “Venom” Page.
ATHLETE PROFILES: Jared Cannonier | Michael “Venom” Page
The “Level 41” Cannonier landed on the wrong side of things in his two appearances last year and seemed headed for a third consecutive setback early in his February main event clash with Gregory “Robocop” Rodrigues. But after weathering the Brazilian’s early onslaught, the veteran contender rallied, putting away Rodrigues with a torrent of strikes early in the fourth round to cement his place in the Top 10 and get things moving in the right direction again.
Page split his first two UFC appearances in 2024, getting the better of Kevin Holland in a bout contested exclusively at range before getting out-wrestled by Ian Machado Garry just under four months later. Earlier this year, “MVP” shifted to middleweight and bounced Shara Magomedov from the ranks of the unbeaten, instantly establishing a baseline for where he stands in the 185-pound weight class.
