(Plan “B”: Boy band — PicProps: MMATKO)
Gil Martinez appeared on Mauro Ranallo’s “The MMA Show“ radio program today and the head boxing trainer and coach at Xtreme Couture dropped a bombshell about one of his highest profile students.
According to Martinez, he’s pretty sure that former number one UFC lightweight contender Gray Maynard has decided to cut ties with the Vegas gym and is planning a move to the San Francisco Bay area where he will train American Kickboxing Academy moving forward. There, Maynard will join a top-tier team that includes notables like Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, Mike Swick, Cain Velasquez, Daniel Cormier, Josh Thomson and Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal.
Martinez told Ranallo that he was hurt and disappointed that Gray decided to move without discussing it with his Xtreme Couture stablemates and coaches, but wishes him the best at his new gym.
Besides his recent knockout loss to Frankie Edgar, part of the reason for Maynard’s departure could be comments Martinez made about his camp for the bout. He revealed in his Fighters.com blog after the bout that he wasn’t involved as much in Maynard’s camp as he has been for previous bouts.
“In the corner I was just playing it by ear and looking for certain things since I wasn’t exactly sure of everything he had been doing since I wasn’t completely involved with his camp this time around, though I wish I had been,” he explained
Martinez also mentioned in the weeks after the fight that he didn’t agree with Gray’s decision to not train every day at Xtreme Couture for the camp. Instead, “The Bully” decided it would be best if he he rented out a gym closer to home and bring in training partners to train with so he didn’t have to travel to XC every day for the eight weeks before the bout.
Although he says that no official decision has been made by Gray, from what he is hearing, it’s all but a done deal.
Attempts to reach Maynard for comment have been unsuccessful. We’ll have more updates as we receive them.
*UPDATED at 7:30 pm ET on Monday, November 21, 2011:
Gray texted us the following statement regarding his supposed switch in camps:
“Nothing for sure yet. Just training, getting new looks. I love [Xtreme Couture], but there’s a lot to learn out there.”
So it seems that he is strongly considering a change of scenery, however he’s taking his time and putting a lot of consideration into where he’ll eventually land.