Tag: Gray Maynard

Gray Maynard Exclusive: Clay Guida Is the Worst Person in the World to Be Mad At

It would be hard to say anything went as planned last Friday night in Atlantic City. Two of the UFC’s top lightweight fighters squared off in the main event of UFC on FX 4. When the final bell sounded, those watching were left wondering what…

It would be hard to say anything went as planned last Friday night in Atlantic City. 

Two of the UFC’s top lightweight fighters squared off in the main event of UFC on FX 4. When the final bell sounded, those watching were left wondering what exactly they had just witnessed. 

While Gray Maynard may have picked up the split-decision victory over Clay Guida, he was certainly amongst the majority who were confused and frustrated by what had just taken place.

Throughout the bout Maynard watched as Guida’s game plan went from elusive to escaping. Where Guida was scoring with strikes in the first two rounds, the final three frames saw “The Carpenter’s” output diminish considerably, replaced by swift movement around the cage.

The frustration boiled over in Round 4 when Maynard dropped his hands in an effort to invite Guida into an exchange. The plan worked. After allowing Guida to tee off on him with three clean shots, Maynard was able to turn the tide of the fight with a guillotine attempt. 

Following the judges’ decision, the tension continued backstage as the two fighters exchanged words during their post-fight medicals. UFC President Dana White’s video blog captured the ordeal as it went down. 

“It was a frustrating fight, man, and I think that was obvious to everyone,” Maynard told Bleacher Report in an exclusive interview after the fight. “It was just crazy to me. Obviously I want to put on a good fight and do my job, but this was the first time I’ve ever had to deal with anything like that in an actual bout. In the fourth round I had enough and did what I had to do to get him to engage. We are here to fight, bro. Let’s do it. 

“I try to look at it from their point of view. They put together a plan, thought it would work and at the end of the day everyone wants to win. It was a crazy fight, and I guess if people are talking about it then it has to be worth something.

“Clay is the worst guy in the world to be mad at because he’s one of the coolest guys on the planet. That’s the crazy thing about it. It sucks things got so nasty between us because he’s really a good dude. It was the heat of the moment and things just carried on afterward. I don’t have any ill will toward him.”

The victory over Guida marked a triumphant return for Maynard and became yet another positive step on a road filled with change. 

Maynard had a turbulent 2011 that saw him come up short on his title hopes. He also made the difficult decision to leave his longtime camp in Las Vegas, Xtreme Couture.

Maynard’s current focus is on regaining the focus and happiness he felt slip away last year.

A big step in that process was settling into his new home at American Kickboxing Academy. He spent the majority of his camp training in San Jose. While he knows he’s found a new home at AKA, Maynard understands the results of the move will not show themselves overnight. 

“It’s a new camp and there is a lot of stuff to do,” Maynard said. “I’m going to evolve, learn more and work to become better. There were things I learned and wasn’t able to show in this fight, but that is the way things go sometimes. 

“On paper everything looked great for the camp. I went to AKA to train on this day and then over here for something on a different day. But you have to make it all mesh, and it takes some time. AKA is an awesome camp, (and) Nova Uniao is great as well, but there are a couple of kinks I definitely have to work out. That is going to take some time. 

“You don’t move to a new camp and things become flawless automatically. It takes work, and I’m excited to continue that progression.”

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[VIDEO] Clay Guida and Gray Maynard Verbally Spar Backstage on Dana White’s UFC 147 Vlog


(Dan Miragliotta explains to Guida the maximum amount of miles allowed to run in the octagon without penalty.) 

After a brief hiatus, Dana White has returned with the daily dose of heartbreak that is the Danavlog to remind us all of the downsides of being a f*cking fighter. Thankfully, not all of us take the phrase as literally as Brazilians do. But the main lesson we took away from today’s episode is simple: what you don’t pay in gym fees, you will more than make up for in blood. Nick Catone, Joey Gambino, and Ross Pearson were just a few of the men to walk away from their bouts with some gruesome lacerations and another (or in Gambino’s case, a first) loss on their record. A tough day at the office indeed.

“Boring,” and “sucked” were just a couple of words that White used to describe the five round affair between Clay Guida and Gray Maynard, a sentiment that most fans seemed to agree with when all was said and done. And regardless of who you thought won that fight, you could probably understand a little bit of Gray’s frustration with the Steve Prefontainian conundrum that Guida brought to the octagon. This frustration became all the more apparent when the two met backstage, where some less than positive remarks were exchanged between the two camps. Oddly enough, it all began when Guida uncharacteristically complained about the judges decision, despite the fact that Napoleon was closer to conquering Russia than Guida ever was to finishing that fight, or even attempting to for that matter.

Video after the jump. 


(Dan Miragliotta explains to Guida the maximum amount of miles allowed to run in the octagon without penalty.) 

After a brief hiatus, Dana White has returned with the daily dose of heartbreak that is the Danavlog to remind us all of the downsides of being a f*cking fighter. Thankfully, not all of us take the phrase as literally as Brazilians do. But the main lesson we took away from today’s episode is simple: what you don’t pay in gym fees, you will more than make up for in blood. Nick Catone, Joey Gambino, and Ross Pearson were just a few of the men to walk away from their bouts with some gruesome lacerations and another (or in Gambino’s case, a first) loss on their record. A tough day at the office indeed.

“Boring,” and “sucked” were just a couple of words that White used to describe the five round affair between Clay Guida and Gray Maynard, a sentiment that most fans seemed to agree with when all was said and done. And regardless of who you thought won that fight, you could probably understand a little bit of Gray’s frustration with the Steve Prefontainian conundrum that Guida brought to the octagon. This frustration became all the more apparent when the two met backstage, where some less than positive remarks were exchanged between the two camps. Oddly enough, it all began when Guida uncharacteristically complained about the judges decision, despite the fact that Napoleon was closer to conquering Russia than Guida ever was to finishing that fight, or even attempting to for that matter.


(Things start to get interesting around the 8:26 mark.) 

I know this will earn me a lot of hate (then again, what doesn’t), but when you want to jab and jog your way to victory, as was obviously Guida’s plan going into last Friday’s fight, I can’t really empathize when the judges bite you in the ass for doing so. Relying on the judges to determine the correct outcome of a fight (especially one that was that close) is akin to career suicide in MMA considering their time-tested incompetence, so Guida has no one to blame but himself (and maybe Greg Jackson) for the inevitable result of doing so. I say this as a Guida fan.

Just check out the Fightmetric stats if you want to see how close of a fight this truly was.

Granted, Fightmetric results don’t often tell the whole story, but my God, talk about an abysmal efficiency rate. All of the rounds were decided by such a small difference that it would be hard to make the case that either fighter was clearly deserving of the judges nod. So basically, who you feel won the fight likely comes down to your view of the terms “aggression” and “octagon control.” I’ll give Guida this, he implemented a frustrating gameplan that Maynard had little to no answer for the first couple of rounds. As things progressed, however, Guida just fell short in terms of effectiveness. Let the cries of “TUF noob” and “incompetent jackass” begin.

–J. Jones

UFC on FX: Did Clay Guida Overdose on Red Bull Before He Faced Gray Maynard?

It’s time to step into the Octagon once again for the first of my UFC double-header reviews. With my UFC 147 review a few days away because of technical problems (a heavy rain storm knocked out the signal to my Sky box), we’re beginning wit…

It’s time to step into the Octagon once again for the first of my UFC double-header reviews. With my UFC 147 review a few days away because of technical problems (a heavy rain storm knocked out the signal to my Sky box), we’re beginning with a look at the latest show on American network FX, shown in the early hours of Saturday morning on ESPN here in Britain.

The broadcast began in the featherweight division with Ross Pearson facing Cub Swanson, which was a great way to open the show.

After an initial feeling-out period, both fighters put in good performances in a highly entertaining back-and-forth battle.

Swanson’s striking game looked perfect. His superior speed kept him ahead of the Brit on more than one occasion as he unleashed his combinations and kicks—most of which Pearson just seemed to walk through.

Pearson, for his part, scored with some explosive takedowns followed by some nice ground and pound. Swanson managed to escape every time, though, and scored with the odd up kick.

The end came in the second round. After staggering his man with a front kick, Swanson connected with a right-left combination that sent Pearson crashing. The referee quickly stepped in to halt the action, and Swanson took the TKO win.

The welterweight division was up next with Brian Ebersole facing T.J. Waldburger.

Having witnessed some great striking in the previous fight, we were then treated to some great grappling in this gripping three-round affair.

Waldburger put in some really good stints on the ground, particularly in the first two rounds. He almost got the submission win in the first with a d’arce choke, and also went for a variety of submissions in the second and third.

Ebersole managed to escape every time, and he even came back with some ground and pound, which included well-placed shoulder strikes.

So with the fight going the distance, the judges came into the equation. Everything went to Ebersole.

Lightweight action followed with Sam Stout going against Spencer Fisher.

The third fight of their trilogy proved to be an entertaining affair. They began trading blows early on, and as the fight progressed, Fisher looked as if he was getting the better of the exchanges.

Although he seemed at a slight deficit in the striking department, Stout sought to take the advantage with some impressive takedowns. He put in a good sting on the ground, though Fisher managed to recover every time. The fight ended with a flurry of blows.

Once again, the judges were called into action, and Stout took the unanimous decision.

The main event featured more lightweight action as Gray Maynard faced Clay Guida.

I think the best term to describe this fight would be “interesting.” For five rounds, Guida bounced around the cage as if he’d overdosed on Red Bull. He managed to get in a few good shots and kicks, but these were few and far between.

If this tactic was designed to frustrate Maynard, then it worked a treat. Maynard managed to get in some good blows, but like Guida’s, these were also few and far between. This wasn’t Maynard’s choice, however.

Maynard finally grabbed Guida in the fourth with a Muay Thai clinch before moving onto some dirty boxing. Guida countered with a takedown, but he soon found himself in a guillotine, which he bounced his way out of.

It was pretty much the same in the fifth, and at one point the referee got so annoyed with Guida’s tactics, he gave him a warning for not engaging.

With the fight going the distance, the judges came into play once again. This time they differed in their opinions, and Maynard took the split decision.

In conclusion, the UFC’s latest foray into the world of network television proved to be something of a mixed bag.

The undercard certainly delivered. There were some good performances there—particularly from Cub Swanson and Brian Ebersole—and Swanson’s win over Ross Pearson received my fight of the night honours.

But the main event was one of those frustrating affairs that left you wondering if Clay Guida actually wanted to fight. It brought back unpleasant memories of Kalib Starnes. I can really sympathise with Gray Maynard, and it really says it all about this fight that the fans were cheering wildly for Guida at the beginning and soundly booing him at the end.

The final verdict is that this time around, the UFC received a thumbs up on the strength of its undercard. It would have been the big thumbs up if it had not been for Clay Guida.

Don’t forget to check out my website at twoshedsreview.blogspot.com, as well as my Facebook page at Facebook.com/twoshedsreview.

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The Unsupportable Opinion: Clay Guida Won That Fight


(And that’s for asking me how to save money on car insurance! / Pic Props: BRMMA Flickr)

By Jason Moles

Clay Guida won that fight. I know what the scorecards said; Bruce Buffer announced them to the world loud and clear. I know what everybody and their brother said on Twitter as well. None of that matters, though, because I know what I saw. Friday night in Atlantic City, Guida defeated Gray Maynard. In what parallel universe can you throw nearly a hundred more strikes than your opponent, he spends the evening swinging at ghosts, and they declare him the winner? On the mean streets of Albuquerque, New Mexico, if you have all but one of your fourteen takedowns stuffed, that does not make you a winner. That makes…not a winner.

Since when do we penalize fighters for not wanting to get smashed in the face? Guida willingly let himself be locked in a cage with “The Bully” for a total of twenty-five minutes. And yet somehow Maynard still wasn’t satisfied, saying at the post-fight press conference, “You can’t just go to the end of the cage and then back to the other end and back to the other end the whole time. You’ve got to give me a chance, too.”

“You’ve got to give me a chance, too?” Sorry, I thought Maynard was a professional fighter. I thought he was above the “If Johnny can’t hit off the pitcher, we’ll just bring out the tee” mentality. First, you don’t like his hair and now you don’t like the way he dances? If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were looking for a date to the prom. You had your chance and you blew it. Were you really expecting Clay to just stand in front of you like the striking dummies at the gym?


(And that’s for asking me how to save money on car insurance! / Pic Props: BRMMA Flickr)

By Jason Moles

Clay Guida won that fight. I know what the scorecards said; Bruce Buffer announced them to the world loud and clear. I know what everybody and their brother said on Twitter as well. None of that matters, though, because I know what I saw. Friday night in Atlantic City, Guida defeated Gray Maynard. In what parallel universe can you throw nearly a hundred more strikes than your opponent, he spends the evening swinging at ghosts, and they declare him the winner? On the mean streets of Albuquerque, New Mexico, if you have all but one of your fourteen takedowns stuffed, that does not make you a winner. That makes…not a winner.

Since when do we penalize fighters for not wanting to get smashed in the face? Guida willingly let himself be locked in a cage with “The Bully” for a total of twenty-five minutes. And yet somehow Maynard still wasn’t satisfied, saying at the post-fight press conference, “You can’t just go to the end of the cage and then back to the other end and back to the other end the whole time. You’ve got to give me a chance, too.”

“You’ve got to give me a chance, too?” Sorry, I thought Maynard was a professional fighter. I thought he was above the “If Johnny can’t hit off the pitcher, we’ll just bring out the tee” mentality. First, you don’t like his hair and now you don’t like the way he dances? If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were looking for a date to the prom. You had your chance and you blew it. Were you really expecting Clay to just stand in front of you like the striking dummies at the gym?

While many thought the actions of “The Carpenter” were egregious enough to warrant a PRIDE yellow card or even a point-deduction, let me point out that I didn’t see “The Bully” give much chase in an attempt to get his hands on Guida and implement his gameplan. It seemed rather, that Maynard was more content to just sit back and complain, flip the bird, cuss at Guida a little — something that in and of itself warranted a point deduction according to the Unified Rules of MMA — and then just sit back some more. Don’t even get me started on Maynard’s repeated hair-pulling. (Another point-deduction right there, if you’re keeping score.)

You see, gentlemen, what we witnessed at UFC on FX 4 was the epitome of Octagon control. In fact, Guida went above and beyond the norm, dominating not only the sponsor sticker in the center, but every square inch of the canvas. Additionally, Guida stuffed thirteen takedowns to keep the fight standing — a prime example of a fighter dictating the pace and location of a fight. Fighters must rely on judges being aware of this, and can only hope the imbeciles sitting cageside are able to recognize it when they see it and score the rounds accordingly. It’s not the first time the wrong fighter had his hand raised, and if life as an MMA fan has taught me anything over the past decade, it won’t be the last.

Clay Guida may not have been willing to become a punching bag for his opponent, nor should he have been. He was also not willing to go balls to the wall trying to take his opponent’s head off or put him to sleep on the mat, with a title shot potentially on the line. In a situation when most out-think the room, the Geico Caveman lookalike followed this popular maxim: Keep It Simple Stupid. Close the distance, get off a few clean shots, and get back out of range so he can’t counter. Simple and effective, no? The last time we saw this gameplan implemented, Carlos Condit won a title belt.

Clay Guida beat Gray Maynard, plain and simple. Guida’s footwork and effective defense kept Maynard guessing at best, punching at phantoms at worst. From bell to bell and post to post, the Greg Jackson product literally danced his way to victory. I know, because I saw it. What fight were you watching?

Gray Maynard vs. Clay Guida: Dana White Is Right to Call out Guida and His Team

When Gray Maynard (11-1-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC) squared off with Clay Guida (29-13 MMA, 9-7 UFC) at UFC on FX 4 Friday night, fans expected one of the hardest-hitting battles the lightweight division could ever offer.What the MMA world got was Guida running …

When Gray Maynard (11-1-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC) squared off with Clay Guida (29-13 MMA, 9-7 UFC) at UFC on FX 4 Friday night, fans expected one of the hardest-hitting battles the lightweight division could ever offer.

What the MMA world got was Guida running from Maynard for five rounds.

Maynard and Guida are known for their ability and willingness to stand in the pocket of a fight and exchange shots. Instead of watching the ultimate battle of striking, the masses were forced to watch The Carpenter run around the Octagon like the chicken in Rocky.

Except in this case, the fans were the Kentucky fried idiots.

This sorry excuse for a main event was an absolute travesty, and UFC president Dana White had every right to come out after the fight and express his distaste for Guida’s fight approach.

White told MMAjunkie.com about the fight and how Guida and his team’s game plan ruined the main event:

The fight sucked. I don’t know how to expand on it anymore…I don’t think that was a split decision at all. I think Gray Maynard won that fight easily. Nobody can win or lose a fight when the guy is running around in circles. He was literally running. I had some guys who are fans on Twitter saying, ‘Great footwork.’ This isn’t (expletive) ‘Dancing With the Stars.’ You can’t win a fight by running around in circles – that’s not how fights are won.

While White is being his normal brash self and rubbing people the wrong way, everything he says is completely true. The fight card was thin already, but having the main event feature a fan favorite like Guida running away from the fight was terrible publicity.

If UFC is trying to grow its mass appeal via its affiliation with FOX Sports, they need to ensure they are putting on more entertaining events; just like the wildly successful all-heavyweight card the company did at UFC 146.

It is clear that White trusted Maynard and Guida to deliver on that kind of excitement for this Friday main event, but the fact that main event was as bad as it was only puts more pressure and stress on the UFC president’s head.

The UFC is a company first and foremost, and it’s White’s job to make it great. Not only does he have the right to question Guida’s style, he has the power to punish him for embarrassing him.

Let’s see how long the MMA veteran lasts in the UFC after this incident.

 

Check back for more on Mixed Martial Arts as it comes, and don’t miss Bleacher Report’s UFC page or listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot topics.

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UFC on FX 4 Results: Gray Maynard "Thought It Was Going to Be a Brawl" vs. Guida

A win is a win when it comes to mixed martial arts, but when it happens in the kind of fight that Gray Maynard had with Clay Guida in the main event of UFC on FX 4 on Friday night, it just doesn’t feel quite as sweet.After coming off the first los…

A win is a win when it comes to mixed martial arts, but when it happens in the kind of fight that Gray Maynard had with Clay Guida in the main event of UFC on FX 4 on Friday night, it just doesn’t feel quite as sweet.

After coming off the first loss of his career in 2011 against Frankie Edgar, Maynard was looking to assert himself back in the top of the UFC’s 155-pound division with a win over a fellow top contender. Maynard, who has been criticized in the past by some for his grinding wrestling style, was put up against one of the UFC’s most active and entertaining lightweights, Clay Guida. 

On paper, the fight looked like it’d be a great one as Guida’s excellent takedown defense would make it tough for Maynard to bring the fight to the ground, thus resulting in what many believed would be a spirited brawl. Maynard himself even thought that’d be the case.

“I was getting flustered, of course,” Maynard told UFC on Fuel TV’s Ariel Helwani. “I thought it was going to be a brawl.”

The frustration was evident as he chased Guida around the cage, even flipping the bird at him and mouthing obscenities at the Team Jackson fighter. 

“He was all over the place,” he said. “He had a plan, but you’ve got to change that up a little bit. You can’t hit and then move all the way across [the cage].”

“It’s a fight, you know?”

Guida’s style in the fight couldn’t have been predicted by anyone and that might have played a part in why referee Dan Miragliotta took so long before finally opting to warn Guida for literally running away in the fifth round. 

While others have commented a point should have been taken from Guida for the timidity he showed throughout the fight, with a win now under his belt, Maynard isn’t ready to suggest that Miragliotta made a bad decision.

“That would’ve been nice for me, but I’m not trying to tell people how to do their jobs. I’m just trying to do my job,” he said. 

With a UFC record of 9-1-1, Maynard is ready to get back into title contention. 

“I was hungry for this fight. I’m hungry for the belt,” he said. “An [Frankie] Edgar fight is always good, but the whole goal is the belt and the top of the world.”

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