Whether you just have a short downtime during work or don’t want a lengthy breakdown, these “Quick Breaks” are for you. “Quick Breaks” are short breakdowns of upcoming fights. In a summed-up focus of strengths, weaknesses and variables, thi…
Whether you just have a short downtime during work or don’t want a lengthy breakdown, these “Quick Breaks” are for you. “Quick Breaks” are short breakdowns of upcoming fights. In a summed-up focus of strengths, weaknesses and variables, this will analyze what could happen in the fight and end with this writer’s prediction.
The UFC will be once again be broadcasting on FX this Friday and will be bringing a great headliner matchup between lightweights Gray Maynard and Clay Guida. The UFC returns to Atlantic City, New Jersey, where the event will take place at the Revel Casino.
Facebook prelims start at 5:00 p.m. EST, followed by Fuel TV prelims at 6:00 p.m. EST, leading to the main card on FX at 9:00 p.m. EST.
In the blue corner, you have Clay Guida, who is 29-12 in his career. “The Carpenter” will be coming in off a loss to current lightweight champion, Benson Henderson, and is looking to reclaim his momentum toward a title shot.
The title shot is something that has eluded Guida over the years, but every fight he has been in has been a show. Guida comes to fight and it is a safe bet to expect high energy levels and some bloodshed.
In the red corner, you have Gray Maynard, who is 10-1-1(1). “The Bully” has had great success in the UFC, acquiring 10 wins in a row before facing Frankie Edgar for the title. After their fight went to a draw, and the rematch won by Edgar, Maynard is ready to get back on track.
While he has only fought one man over the last two years, he will now have his chance to prove himself against another quick and energetic striker.
Styles make fights, as they say, and both bring something unique into this fight. Guida has stamina and a relentless pace that is challenging for any opponent. Maynard, while showing some striking, has a forte for wrestling. Guida has a wrestling background as well, but not to the same caliber of Maynard, and has not really focused on using that part of his game in his fights.
Guida will look to use his speed and movement to catch Maynard, but if Maynard can get a hold of him, he may be able to lay-and-pray to a decision. Guida is one to put up a fight and get off the ground quickly, but time will tell if the two opposing grappling strengths will cancel or overpower the other.
As long as Maynard’s stamina holds up and he doesn’t lose focus, he can control this fight. However, it may only be the striking and pace set by Guida that will provide a finish.
Prediction: Clay Guida wins via TKO in the second round.
When the UFC was first created, they lived up to their tagline, “There are no rules.” But as scrutiny and protest continued, the inevitable arrival of rules and regulations were implemented gradually, if the UFC.
When the UFC was first created, they lived up to their tagline, “There are no rules.” But as scrutiny and protest continued, the inevitable arrival of rules and regulations were implemented gradually, if the UFC expected to grow and reform. However, with all rules, there are gray areas, and therefore cases with state athletic commissions.
Clay Guida and Gray Maynard are expected to face each other in the octagon at UFC on FX 4 this Friday. About a month ago, Maynard’s camp made a complaint to the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board that has just recently come into fruition. The complaint regarded Guida’s famous locks. Maynard’s camp believes that Guida’s long hair proves as an unfair advantage in the octagon, and creates a distraction for his opponent. While Maynard claims to have had no knowledge of this complaint until it hit the media, I find it hard to believe.
In some respects, looking at the unified rules in black and white, it makes sense. Fighters are supposed to maintain a clean, tidy appearance, and if the head or facial hair proves to be a hazard, or interferes with the contest, the fighter isn’t allowed to fight until the commission approves of any and all changes. I can see how hair could be distracting for another fighter, especially one with such an unorthodox style such as Clay Guida’s. As of UFC 15, hair pulling was banned from the sport. Dealing with a fighter with longer hair would put strain on the opponent, making sure to avoid accidentally pulling or catching the hair. This could give an advantage to the opponent with long hair, as the other fighter would have to be careful with submissions and ground game.
On the other hand, it is just hair. It seems very trivial to pick out something so minute in an opponent, as Clay Guida has never had a problem with an opponent in the history of his career. He did, however, have a slight issue when UFC undisputed didn’t put Guida in the game because designing his hair posed too much of a problem. Dana White has suggested the fighter cut his locks, offering him a sweet deal of $10,000. However, Guida still sports his trademark hair. A number of fighters in the organization also have long hair including: Roy Nelson, Cody McKenzie, Louis Gaudinot, Benson Henderson, and Urijah Faber (until recently). In most instances with other fighters, it hasn’t posed a problem.
To avoid conflict, Clay Guida has agreed to braid his hair back for the fight. While he wasn’t ecstatic about it, he was understanding, and did what had to be done to continue with this fight. With other rules being targeted and reinforced in recent years, it is safe to assume that the unified rules will eventually have clarification on hair, and whether or not it needs to always be tied back. While this seems like a trivial matter, appearance of a fighter in MMA can have just as much impact on the sport as the fight itself- just ask Dana White what he thought about Dennis Hallman’s attire choice at UFC 133.
This Friday, Clay Guida will face off against Gray Maynard in the main event of UFC on FX 4.Both fighters enter the cage coming off losses to the top two fighters in the division—Guida to Benson Henderson and Maynard to Frankie Edgar.Guida and Ma…
This Friday, Clay Guida will face off against Gray Maynard in the main event of UFC on FX 4.
Both fighters enter the cage coming off losses to the top two fighters in the division—Guida to Benson Henderson and Maynard to Frankie Edgar.
Guida and Maynard are almost universally considered to be top five lightweights, and their fight could be for a No. 1 contender position, or could put them in position to fight for a No. 1 contender spot.
Fans are torn on who will win this fight, so let’s take a look at a breakdown of the lightweight matchup.
UFC lightweight Clay Guida is known for many things. His entertaining personality, his non-stop motor…his long, glorious, flowing locks of hair. Unfortunately, following a complaint from his UFC on FX 4 opponent Gray Maynard, the hair will be go…
UFC lightweight Clay Guida is known for many things. His entertaining personality, his non-stop motor…his long, glorious, flowing locks of hair.
Unfortunately, following a complaint from his UFC on FX 4 opponent Gray Maynard, the hair will be going through a disappointing transformation prior to the bout.
Before anyone freaks out, the answer is “No”—he’s not pulling a Urijah Faber and chopping it off. The caveman-like hair that fans have grown to love will instead be under containment with braids for the fight.
The decision to control the hair came after Maynard filed a complaint to the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board in May. Rather than try to fight the action in a legal hearing, Guida will simply opt to comply with Maynard’s request and focus on the fight itself.
“Clay chose to avoid any distractions and simply complied. Clay will be braiding his hair back. Clay is not focused on this and has one objective: winning. Nothing will distract him from his goal.”
Under the Unified Rules of MMA, individual state athletic commissions are allowed to make a ruling on “whether head or facial hair presents any hazard to the safety of the unarmed combatant or his opponent or will interfere with the supervision and conduct of the contest or exhibition.”
We often see this rule come into play with female fighters whose hair is typically as long as or longer than Guida’s.
Nick Lembo, counsel for the NJSACB, told MMAjunkie.com:
“He doesn’t want to do it, and I don’t believe he’s 100 percent happy about it, but he’s being very understanding and very cooperative about it and he agreed to it. Otherwise, if he said, ‘No, I’m not going to do that,’ we’d have to have a hearing on it and let both sides present their case and have a commissioner’s ruling on the issue.”
Lembo explained that Maynard’s complaint was that Guida’s hair “could pose a distraction to their fighter…and that they thought it gave an unfair advantage to their opponent.”
As disappointed as some fans may be by the decision to make the physical appearance alteration, there is little doubt that the bout itself between Guida and Maynard will be a great one.
Ramsey Nijem breaks every fighter stereotype. Other than fighting in the UFC against the toughest competitors in the world, Nijem’s calling is stripping down on television, listening to catchy pop songs that no tough guy would ever admit to liking, and…
Ramsey Nijem breaks every fighter stereotype.
Other than fighting in the UFC against the toughest competitors in the world, Nijem’s calling is stripping down on television, listening to catchy pop songs that no tough guy would ever admit to liking, and making people feel uncomfortable.
“Right now, my favorite song is the Carly Rae Jepsen song ‘Call Me Maybe,’” Nijem said. “I’ll put that song on in practice every day, and everybody on our team is like, ‘oh crap.’ I just run around and dance to it.”
So when you envision Nijem getting ready for his upcoming bout against C.J. Keith at UFC on FX 4 on June 22, picture him hitting the mitts to some good ol’ Carly Rae Jepsen with surrounding fighters rolling their eyes. But then again, that’s Nijem for you.
Unfortunately for his teammates, the spotlight hasn’t changed who Nijem is as a fighter. Instead, it’s given him a larger spotlight to express himself. Since becoming a UFC fighter, Nijem said not much has changed.
Rather than being like ‘Ah yeah, I’m a UFC fighter, I make it rain,’ Nijem still lives in a basement (a nice basement, he added), hikes, camps and sometimes sleeps in the back of his truck in the woods. And, as previously stated, listens to pop classics that antagonize his teammates, especially UFC fighter Court McGee.
“Court is a little more serious, so he’s like ‘what’s this crap we’re listening to!’ I’m like, “it’s the best song around, Court,” Nijem said.
Nijem first broke onto the UFC scene in the company’s 13th season of its reality series, The Ultimate Fighter. During the season, Nijem grinded his way through the competition to reach the finals against Tony Ferguson, but what garnered the most attention were Nijem’s stripping antics on television.
The cameras didn’t discourage Nijem from making others around him feel uncomfortable, and what’s the best way to do that in Nijem’s mind? Get nude.
“I’ve never been hesitant to drop the trousers,” Nijem said. “One of the things I love doing is making people uncomfortable. I don’t know why, but it’s like a fun pastime for me.”
Don’t mistake this as an act for television; Nijem said that he was simply being himself.
“A lot of people ask me if I do that on purpose, but not really, that’s just who I am,” Nijem said. “I just like to joke around and have fun, and it just happens to be in the spotlight now. Everyone that knows me, and has known me for a long time, they weren’t like ‘oh, that’s just Ramsey acting.’ No, my mom was like “well, he’s embarrassed me a million times, and that’s just the way he is.’”
Before being cast for TUF and entering the UFC, Nijem always competed in sports, with wrestling emerging as his bread and butter. However, Nijem never thought he’d become a professional athlete simply because of his “too tall/too skinny for his own good” build.
At 5’11” and fighting at 155 pounds, Nijem admitted that he doesn’t exactly have the tough guy appearance. In fact, if Nijem were walking down the street, some might not even guess that he’s a UFC fighter, or even a professional athlete.
“I was never told I was an athlete growing up,” Nijem said. “I was competitve, but I wasn’t naturally athletically gifted. I’m kind of blessed because I learned to work hard for it. And now that I’m getting older and becoming more athletic, it’s all working out pretty good.”
Never judge a book by its cover, though. Don’t let Nijem’s child-at-heart mentality and body shape fool you. This guy can fight. After making it to the finals on TUF, Nijem is 1-1 in the UFC at the age of 24.
He’s recently coming off of a dominant decision victory against Daniel Downes at UFC 137 after getting knocked out in his UFC debut against Ferguson in The Ultimate Fighter 13 finale. But the loss taught Nijem a valuable lesson.
“When I fought Ferguson, I wasn’t myself,” Nijem said. “That’s not the way I normally fight. I still hit him with some nice shots, but I got caught up into a slugfest and paid for it. Against Danny, I came out knowing my game plan and strengths, and I stuck to them.”
At UFC on FX 4, he’ll welcome UFC newcomer Keith inside the Octagon, and Nijem has been working extensively with John Hackleman on his striking, for not only this fight, but also future fights in the UFC.
Nijem’s so dedicated to evolving his game that he’s spent most of his training camp at Hackleman’s house in an extra room Hackleman provided for him. Nijem’s always trying to improve, so is at practice throughout the year working religiously on his striking.
“I’ve been really working on my striking, because, obviously, that’s one of the biggest holes in my game right now. And you know, the less holes the better,” Nijem said.
Improved striking will come into play in his bout against Keith, as the 8-0 prospect is coming off three straight knockouts in The Warriors Cage promotion. However, those knockouts don’t seem to impress Nijem.
“He’s been fighting at a local show that I think benefits him,” Nijem said. “Three of his (eight) wins I don’t think count because the guys he beat don’t have a single win. We don’t really know how good C.J. Keith is really, because he hasn’t fought in the UFC.”
Nijem promises to test Keith’s heart with his relenting pace and grinding style in their upcoming bout, but, unfortunately, the fans won’t be greeted with a “Call Me Maybe” intro.
“Yeah, there’s no way Hackleman would walk out with me and be in my corner with that playing.”
The UFC continues its busy schedule with five very fun fight cards in June. Starting with tonight’s Ultimate Fighter finale, the month will culminate with a fight between Wanderlei Silva and Rich Franklin at UFC 147 in Brazil. Prepare yourselves a…
The UFC continues its busy schedule with five very fun fight cards in June. Starting with tonight’s Ultimate Fighter finale, the month will culminate with a fight between Wanderlei Silva and Rich Franklin at UFC 147 in Brazil.
Prepare yourselves as every week is fight week. And enjoy when fighters become contenders in their respective divisions.
Take a look at the top five most anticipated fights in June.
Whether you just have a short downtime during work or don’t want a lengthy breakdown, these “Quick Breaks” are for you. “Quick Breaks” are short breakdowns of upcoming fights. In a summed-up focus of strengths, weaknesses and variables, this will analyze what could happen in the fight and end with this writer’s prediction. 