All was eventually forgiven, but Gray Maynard was mad as hell Friday night at Clay Guida’s game-plan en route to working his way back into the lightweight title picture.
Guida used his footwork to stick and move early in the five-round main event of UFC on FX 4 in Atlantic City, N.J., but that footwork eventually turned into running. Maynard responded with psychological tactics, flipping Guida the bird and challenging him to bring it. When Maynard was able to get inside, he landed his share of shots. And the judges rewarded Maynard with quality work over Guida’s style.
Maynard was awarded the split-decision victory (48-47, 47-48, 48-47), but he was far from satisfied. He initially refused to shake hands with Guida and the two exchanged words outside the cage.
“I thought I won that fight fair and square with all three judges, but I guess it was a split decision,” Maynard told the audience. “I thought Guida came to fight. I came to fight. I wanted to get bloody and have fun. It was a five-round fight, and I wanted to prove to people I could go a full five.”
Maynard (11-1-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC) returned to the win column after he was knocked out by Edgar last October in the third bout of their trilogy. The Bully will have to face another top contender (Anthony Pettis?) before he’s seriously considered as the next No. 1 contender, but he knows he can solve “The Answer” and expressed a desire to fight Edgar for a fourth time during his post-fight interview.
Maynard handed Edgar his first MMA loss and in two subsequent bouts was inches from knocking out the then champion in the first round. Against Guida (29-10 MMA, 9-7 UFC), he overcame the frustration over the Carpenter’s “Dancing With the Stars” routine and apologized for his anger while addressing the media.
“Personally, I don’t act like that,” Maynard said. “It’s a fight, but I was pissed off. I’m a human, too. I get mad. It’s nothing personal. It was a fight, it got heated, and he’s a cool guy. I’m glad we can just drop it at that. I try not to act like that.”
UFC president Dana White, however, wasn’t so forgiving.
“That fight sucked,” White said. “I don’t know how to expand on it any more. 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.”
The Jersey Boys went 1-for-1 on the event’s preliminary card. Dan Miller submitted Ricardo Funch with a guillotine choke 3:12 into Round 3. Nick Cantone was bloodied and beaten by Chris Camozzi until the doctor stopped the bount at 1:51 of the third.
Full UFC on FX 4 results:
Gray Maynard def. Clay Guida via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)
Sam Stout def. Spencer Fisher via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Brian Ebersole def. T.J. Waldburger via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Cub Swanson def. Ross Pearson via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:14
Ricardo Lamas def. Hatsu Hioki via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Ramsey Nijem def. C.J. Keith via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:29
Rick Story def. Brock Jardine via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Steven Siler def. Joey Gambino via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 2:47
Chris Camozzi def. Nick Catone via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 3, 1:51
Matt Brown def. Luis Ramos via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:20
Dan Miller def. Ricardo Funch via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 3, 3:12
Ken Stone def. Dustin Pague via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
-- See MMAFighting.com for more coverage
Follow Jon Lane on Twitter: @JonLaneNYC