In a quest he started in 2006, Clay Guida finally finds himself only one fight away from challenging the UFC Lightweight Champion. The only man standing between him and the gold he desires is Ben Henderson.
This is not the first time Clay Guida (29 Wins, 11 Losses) is stepping into the octagon with a former WEC Lightweight Champion. In just his last octagon appearance, “The Carpenter” went toe-to-toe with former WEC Champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis at “The Ultimate Fighter 13 Season Finale”. Pettis was riding a lot of momentum into the bout and was favored, expected to defeat Clay Guida inside the distance. Guida payed the hype no attention and approached this fight just like he did his last couple: with patience and a masterful game-plan.
Clay Guida and his training camp studied not only Anthony Pettis’ weaknesses, but also what they had to do to cancel his strengths. It was evident walking into the fight that Pettis’ biggest weapon was his unpredictable striking, and his shining weakness was his takedown defense and ability to get back up once taken down. Putting the pieces of the puzzle together, Guida was able to walk into the octagon at the “TUF 13 Season Finale” with confidence knowing that he had the win in the bag.
Fifteen minutes after the initial horn sounded, Guida grinded out a decision victory. Guida wasn’t always known for sticking to his strategies, though.
With two “Fight of the Year” awards and six end of the night bonuses to his name, it’s easy to see why so many fans are behind Clay Guida. Guida used to display a fighting spirit that left his blood, sweat and tears on the canvas. While that style of fighting padded his pockets, it also had a tendency of padding his opponent’s win columns. His fight with Roger Huerta is a prime example of when Guida’s fighting spirit cost him a win.
In 2007, Clay Guida and Roger Huerta had the duties of putting on a main-event to cap off the sixth season of The Ultimate Fighter. Styles clashed and the two put on one of the most exciting fights in UFC history. Guida had already built a reputation for himself of leaving it all in the octagon. Unfortunately when you leave it all in the octagon and fight like a madman, you leave yourself susceptible to unexpected strikes, and that’s exactly what happened.
If the bout had continued on the way it had been going, Guida was well on his way of squeezing by with a close decision victory. Guida left his head exposed and didn’t hook the legs in time while trying to secure a takedown, and allowed Huerta to counter with a vicious knee to the head. Guida stayed on his feet and instead of recouping, he closed the distance with Huerta again and eventually found himself on the unfortunate end of a rear naked choke.
It was a similar story in his fights against Diego Sanchez and Kenny Florian; Clay had let his courage get in the way of intelligent fighting. Fans and media gave him the reputation of being the UFC Lightweight Gatekeeper.
Clay Guida took matters into his own hands and found a new home in New Mexico at Greg Jackson’s training camp. The time Guida spent with Jackson evidently did wonders, as Clay Guida is essentially a brand new fighter from what he was years ago.
Guida made his always-active and tiring grappling a crucial part of his offensive strategy. Guida re-emerged as a more complete fighter in his following fights when he used his grappling to submit Shannon Gugerty at “UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones” and Takanori Gomi at “UFC 125″. He utilized his grinding style of wrestling to transition into favorable positions, landing the eventual submission. The scary part is we see a new and improved Clay Guida every time he steps into the octagon.
Clay Guida has already proven that he is championship material by beating former WEC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis and former PRIDE Lightweight Champion Takanori Gomi in consecutive bouts. Guida studies every opponent carefully and knows exactly what he needs to do to neutralize even the best of offenses. If there is anyone that can stop Henderson’s rampage in the UFC, it’s Clay Guida.
