Tag: anthonypettis

Clay Guida: Anthony Pettis Bout Will Be a Fight of the Year Candidate

Filed under: UFCSandwiched between two UFC pay-per-views and at the start of the busiest stretch of the year in mixed martial arts, Saturday night’s Ultimate Fighter Finale is being somewhat overlooked by MMA fans.

But Clay Guida, who’s fighting Antho…

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Sandwiched between two UFC pay-per-views and at the start of the busiest stretch of the year in mixed martial arts, Saturday night’s Ultimate Fighter Finale is being somewhat overlooked by MMA fans.

But Clay Guida, who’s fighting Anthony Pettis in the main event on Saturday night, says any fan who misses it is going to miss what may be the single best MMA fight of 2011.

“It’s got fight of the night, fight of the year written all over it,” Guida said on The MMA Hour. “It’s going to be a fun fight for the fans and a fun fight for us.”

Although Guida’s bout with Pettis may be a brawl, he says it’s no grudge match. Guida said he likes Pettis personally and admires the way Pettis approaches the sport, constantly looking to improve himself and bringing new techniques into the cage every time he fights, as he did with his “Showtime Kick” in his last fight, a win over Ben Henderson.

“I’m a fan of his,” Guida said of Pettis. “I love watching him fight. He’s very exciting. He has a high pace. Every time he fights he’s coming up with different things. Besides the kick heard round the world he has lots of tricks in his bag.”

Learning new tricks is part of why Guida moved to New Mexico and began training with a new coach, Greg Jackson. Guida made a football analogy in explaining why he’s thrilled to be training at Jackson’s gym.

“Training with the best guys in the world is only going to improve your game,” Guida said. “Do you want to be coached by Vince Lombardi or Dave Wannstedt? Go to the best guys in the world and you’re going to be one of the best. The first week I was here I realized there’s nothing but hard working animals in the gym.”

If Guida beats Pettis, he might just become the next No. 1 contender in the UFC’s lightweight division — and possibly the next champion from Jackson’s gym. But Guida says he’s not focused on that.

“I’m focused on June 4,” Guida said, “and that’s all I’m thinking about.”

 

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Dream a Little Dream of Strikeforce vs. UFC

Filed under: UFC, StrikeforceSaturday’s announcement that Zuffa, parent company of the UFC, had bought top rival Strikeforce took the MMA world by surprise.

It also gave UFC president Dana White a new No. 1 catch phrase when “business as usual,” spok…

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Anthony Pettis ninja kicks Ben Henderson.Saturday’s announcement that Zuffa, parent company of the UFC, had bought top rival Strikeforce took the MMA world by surprise.

It also gave UFC president Dana White a new No. 1 catch phrase when “business as usual,” spoken dozens of times during his interview with MMA Fighting and on Monday’s media call, replaced “he’s in the mix,” his previous favorite go-to response.

But even though, as White says, the UFC and Strikeforce will continue, for now, to operate the same way as they did last week, last month and last year – “business as usual” as separate promotional entities – it hasn’t stopped MMA fans from early salivation over some potential fights that used to be just pipe dreams.

And even though “business as usual” might prove to be legit and they may never happen, having the UFC and Strikeforce under the same banner at least can make us feel a little bit like Lloyd Christmas in “Dumb and Dumber”: “So you’re tellin’ me there’s a chance …”

Let’s take a look at a pair of dream superfights in each crossover weight class (lightweight to heavyweight) between current UFC fighters and current Strikeforce fighters. And hey, if any of them ever get booked, you can always say you read it here first.

Dana White Confirms Clay Guida Next for Anthony Pettis

Filed under: UFC, NewsFORT HOOD, Texas – UFC president Dana White on Friday confirmed that Anthony Pettis, the last lightweight champion in the WEC, will next fight Clay Guida.

White broke the news during a Q&A session with members of the militar…

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FORT HOOD, Texas – UFC president Dana White on Friday confirmed that Anthony Pettis, the last lightweight champion in the WEC, will next fight Clay Guida.

White broke the news during a Q&A session with members of the military at Fort Hood prior to Friday’s weigh-in event.

WEC 53 Bonuses Go to Pettis, Henderson, Wineland, Roller

Filed under: UFC, WEC, NewsGLENDALE, ARIZ. – The WEC handed out bonus awards for the final time Thursday night at WEC 53 at Jobing.com Arena outside of Phoenix.

Hosting its final event before merging into fellow Zuffa promotion UFC, the WEC gave out …

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GLENDALE, ARIZ. – The WEC handed out bonus awards for the final time Thursday night at WEC 53 at Jobing.com Arena outside of Phoenix.

Hosting its final event before merging into fellow Zuffa promotion UFC, the WEC gave out its customary $10,000 bonus awards to four fighters following the event. And all four came from the event’s preliminary card, which saw five of seven fights end with first-round knockouts or submissions.

WEC co-founder and general manager Reed Harris announced at the post-fight press conference that the bonus awards went to Eddie Wineland, Shane Roller, Anthony Pettis and Ben Henderson.