
Ian Machado Garry before UFC on ESPN 66: Carlos Prates 'worst' of the Fighting Nerds
Ian Machado Garry ranks Carlos Prates the lowest out of the Fighting Nerds.
Machado Garry (15-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) takes on streaking welterweight contender Prates (21-6 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in Saturday's UFC on ESPN 66 (ESPN2, ESPN+) main event at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.
Prates is part of the red-hot Fighting Nerds team, which also features ranked middleweight Caio Borralho, ranked featherweight Jean Silva, and rising lightweight Mauricio Ruffy. Machado Garry thinks Prates stands out the least.
"I just think they're all great, (but) I think Prates is the worst of the four," Garry told CBS Sports. "I think Ruffy is the best. The way Ruffy moves is phenomenal, just the flow, the movement, it's just beautiful to watch. And then you look at someone like Caio, who just everywhere is talented.
"He can beat you on the feet, beat you on the ground, has phenomenal jiu-jitsu, he's an absolute fridge of a man. Jean Silva is a dog. He's literally a dog. I know he was barking last week, but that man just knows how to fight. I love watching their guys fight. I think they have a great energy in the octagon, I think they have a great confidence, and you see that, and I think that matters."
All four of the aforementioned Fighting Nerds are unbeaten in the octagon. Ruffy is coming off a Knockout of the Year contender, a spinning wheel-kick finish of King Green at UFC 313. Borralho defeated former title challenger Jared Cannonier in his first main event last August, and Silva notched a bonus-winning submission of Bryce Mitchell at UFC 314 earlier this month.

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