Clay Guida is coming off of a unanimous-decision victory over Robbie Peralta at UFC Fight Night in Fairfax, Virginia. Next to the belching in between rounds, his post-fight speech caught a bit of attention. Bleacher Report asked him to elaborate on those comments, along with his thoughts about his performance against Peralta:
Bleacher Report: You said you had a sloppy fight. What was it about your performance that made you unsatisfied?
Clay Guida: A true champion and athlete is never satisfied with their performance. You can always do more and always improve. My wrestling needed some work. There were times where I could have gotten the takedown quicker or pulled him off the cage faster. That’s an opponent I should finish nine out of 10.
Robbie is tough. He hit hard and cut me open a little bit. I knew better than to trade with him.
To answer your question, I’m not satisfied with my victory. I always want to finish and try new things. The wrestling was a difference in the fight.
B/R: How has working with Team Alpha Male improved your wrestling?
CG: I split my time with Glendale, wrestling with some very tough Eastern European wrestlers, and at Ultimate Fitness at Team Alpha Male, wrestling with very successful collegiate and international wrestlers. I get to wrestle with more guys my size with more successful backgrounds, and that’s a recipe for improvement and success.
B/R: Why do you feel that fans give no credit to an intense grappling contest during a MMA battle?
CG: I would say the respect isn’t given to where it’s deserved. I think it’s because they’ve been spoiled with so many wild fights, sloppy striking matches, bloody boxing and kickboxing bouts, and over-the-top knockouts. That is what they’re used to, and that’s what they want to see.
The real true PRIDE fans, the real true old-school UFC fans that were built on the Dan Severns, the Royce Gracies, the Matt Hugheses and BJ Penns…the ones that know what the ground and stand-up game is and can leverage and balance both, those are the ones that the sport is all about. Sure, it’s also for the new fans who are watching on pay-per-view, Fight Pass or Fox Sports, as well.
The fans cheer louder and give more respect to the kickboxers, muay thai guys and strikers, but the sport wouldn’t be here for the wrestlers. It wouldn’t be as dynamic without the great wrestlers and jiu-jitsu practitioners.
B/R: What do you think can be done to help MMA fans better appreciate the grappling aspect in general?
CG: Start watching college wrestling. Start getting your kids into youth wrestling programs. Get educated and find out what the toughest sport in the world is. Realize that it’s the hardest-working sport that demands the most time and sacrifice, builds the most character and discipline.
People will respect what wrestling has to offer to this world. It will take educating themselves on more than just guys in there swinging for the fences.
B/R: How do you hope to educate fans in appreciating grappling?
CG: Just by spreading the word and telling people how it’s changed my life. Without wrestling, I wouldn’t know what MMA is, doing this interview or be in the UFC. Wrestling is what brought me here, and I came to the UFC to create financial stability.
I was never a standout in high school and college wrestling. But it helped me get to this place in my career.
These NCAA All-Americans realize the same thing, and they’re battle-tested through collegiate wrestling. Without that, 90 percent of them wouldn’t be in the UFC.
B/R: Which wrestlers do you think are on the rise in the MMA landscape?
CG: Lance Palmer is a teammate of mine that is over at the World Series of Fighting who is a champion at 145 pounds. He has a fight coming up in June.
Ben Askren, who is the welterweight champion at ONE. He’s just a pure animal.
There are many Russian fighters coming up in the UFC that are making a big name for themselves.
Also, Will Brooks, Michael Chandler…the list goes on and on.
Not every wrestler is going to be a Division I champion. Some guys may never make it to the Olympics. MMA provides another avenue for those wrestlers to continue their careers.
B/R: You called out President Obama during your post-fight speech. I know it wasn’t a political dig, but not many Presidents have attended a combat sporting event. Why did you feel that it was important for him to come visit you guys in Fairfax?
CG: I just wanted to make him aware of college wrestling. I know President Obama is aware of college wrestling, but it would be cool to see more of our leaders more vocal about the sport.
Do I see him being front row at a fight anytime soon? Probably not. But I want him to realize that we’re not a bunch of Neanderthals; MMA is a skilled sport. I know he’s a sports fan. Many of these other athletes are doing MMA training and do similar cross-training that we do.
MMA isn’t underground anymore. Fox Sports isn’t underground. I know he passes it out on TV once in a while; maybe throw a tweet out there or something.
The UFC is coming to Chicago. I’m from Chicago; he’s from Chicago. It would be cool to see him support some local fights.
B/R: Do you plan on making a run at the lightweight crown? Do you plan on staying at featherweight? Or are you going to bounce back and forth between both divisions?
CG: Ideally, it would be cool to do some superfights at both divisions. I’m not asking the UFC to cater to anybody. Or call me the utility guy. I’d like some bigger fights. I don’t expect them to give me a shot at [Rafael] dos Anjos. I fought seven or eight of the top 10 in the division.
I’m unimpressed with my performance at 145. 3-2 is not impressive.
It’s all good. I’m just excited about where this sport is going. It’s the fastest growing sport in the world.
B/R: Thanks for talking with me today.
All quotes obtained firsthand, via interview, unless otherwise noted.
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