This weekend’s UFC event may not have featured the biggest names – though Wanderlei Silva is about as big as they come – or the most compelling fights, but they weren’t short on talking points.
As a result, there is plenty to get to in this combo platter edition of The Aftermath, your UFC event recap experience here on The Roar.
UFC on FX 4: Clay Guida vs. Gray Maynard
– Gray Maynard momentarily morphed in a member of the Diaz family in Saturday’s main event, taunting Clay Guida at various points during the final three rounds of their fight. I can’t say I blame him either.
– Anyone who wants to argue that Guida was just using superior footwork and a sound game plan should go check out Maynard’s two fights previous to this. Frankie Edgar showed how to use movement in concert with your striking to keep an opponent off balance in those two title fights; Guida wasn’t doing much more than dancing in the cage.
– Having re-watched the fight strictly from a judging perspective (I’m a certified, recognised MMA judge, having passed “Big” John McCarthy’s COMMAND course), I score that contest 48-47 for Maynard. Guida got the better of things in the first two rounds, but it was Maynard’s fight from there on out for me.
– Loved the veteran savvy shown by both Sam Stout and Brian Ebersole in their wins. Stout mixed things up with some timely takedowns against Spencer Fisher to earn the win in their rubber match, while Ebersole remained calm early when TJ Waldburger locked in a deep D’Arce choke before controlling the action over the last two rounds to earn his fourth straight UFC win.
– Cub Swanson’s finish of Ross Pearson was one of the best of the year. He showed great balance landing with a pair of solid right hands when Pearson caught his leg after an attempted front kick, and then slipped out, connecting with a blistering left hook as Pearson came charging forward for the finish. Swanson can be inconsistent at times, but he’s got a load of talent, and is rarely in a dull fight.
– I bet Hatsu Hioki wishes he would have accepted that title shot against Jose Aldo right about now. The former Shooto standout dropped a unanimous decision to Ricardo Lamas, who has won three straight since moving to featherweight, and didn’t look good for the second time in three UFC appearances. I honestly wouldn’t be shocked if he was released at this point.
– People are saying that Steven Siler has proven himself to be a legitimate threat in the featherweight division, but I’m not buying it. He’s beaten two late replacements and the consistently underachieving Cole Miller. Let’s see him beat someone a little more established before calling him a contender.
– Awesome to see Dan Miller get a win in his welterweight debut. He and his family have been through a lot in the last few years, and this was a great moment on Saturday.
UFC 147
– A tip of the cap to Rich Franklin for what I can only describe as a truly professional effort on Saturday, and with UFC 147 in general. The guy comes back after 16 months on the sidelines and a gnarly shoulder surgery, survives a dicey second round flurry, and wins a solid decision, all while happily accepting a dangerous fight on short notice. People need to give “Ace” far more respect than he gets.
– Rony “Jason” Mariano is much better than his performance at UFC 147 showed. He was clearly overcome with emotions during the build-up to the fight, crying all the way until the introductions were made, and I think he was fighting safe to ensure victory.
It also didn’t help that his opponent pulled guard more times in their 15 minute fight than I can remember seeing in the last three years combined. It’s one thing to pull guard and be attacking, but “Pepey” was immediately going to a closed guard; made no sense to me at all.
– Injured middleweight finalist Daniel Sarafian will be the breakout prospect from that side of TUF: Brazil, and it should show as soon as he comes back and faces Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira as he would have last night.
– Fabricio Werdum trucked Mike Russow, which is impressive, as Russow is a durable guy who had only been beaten once in his career, and has taken some serious punishment in the past. That said, “Vai Cavalo” needs another win or two before he’s due a rematch with Junior dos Santos or a shot at the heavyweight title if “Cigano” loses the belt next time out.
– The best parts of the night, for me, were the incredible respect all the Brazilian fighters showed each other throughout the event, and the thunderous crowd. There may have only been 10-15,000 people in the building, but it sounded like 50,000 and showed why the UFC has held three events there in the last 11 months.
Follow The Roar’s UFC Expert E. Spencer Kyte on Twitter (@spencerkyte).
E. Spencer Kyte
Roar Guru
AIS: I don't think Dana was being too harsh here at all. He can be at times, but I don't mind what he said about Guida following this fight; he fought contrary to the way that made him popular and successful, and Dana voiced his opinion on it. No objections from me.
AIS
Guest
To be honest, I think that Dana wasn't being too harsh. There was a reason that Guida managed to turn the whole crowd against himself. I also think that I'd trust Dana's comments instead of the guy who just commented here.
E. Spencer Kyte
Roar Guru
Straight from FightMetric, who I think does the best statistical work in MMA (these are striking stats): Round 3: Maynard 9/58, Guida 4/63 Round 4: Maynard 14/36, Guida 14/60 Round 5: Maynard 17/43, Guida 11/58 Maynard also had a close submission attempt in Round 4, and the only completed takedown of the night in Round 5. Stats don't tell the whole story either, but there is no way that you can win a round landing 4 strikes, and not engaging. Not that 9 is a great number, but if I land twice as many punches as you, and you're constantly going backwards, the judges aren't scoring the fight in your favour. The hair thing is irrelevant too; Clay could have braided his hair however he wanted, so it's not like this was part of some strategic plan of Gray's to get him to have a ponytail he could grab. And, according to the rules, he has every right to make the request he did, and Clay could have argued against it. Instead, he acquiesced. Not a big issue to me. As for Dana, he offered his opinion of the performance, no differently from the way you or I have here. Is he harsh at times? Absolutely, and I can understand how that frustrates people. I too know that Clay will be back better than ever. Thanks for the comment.
LAJay007
Guest
Still troubled by the judges decision on the fight. I've watched it again and still scored at least 3 of 5 rounds for Clay. He landed more strikes and more powerful ones at that then Gray. Those that landed well for Gray were out of the clinch ala the natural "pony tail handle" Gray asked for before the fight. Literally, he requested it 72hrs before the fight! And btw.. F@ck Dana White for the way he's spoken of Clay! He's a blowhard sensationalist who loves to bash the fighters, run them into the ground, and grossly under pay them whole time. Clay has only been the quintessential steward of the UFC and MMA alike. In and outside the octagon. I feel bad for the Dude who won that fight but I know him well... He'll only come back better and better. Like he always does. Know that!
E. Spencer Kyte
Roar Guru
AIS, The people that want to liken Guida's performance to that of Carlos Condit against Diaz amaze me; they were very, very different. Condit did a great job of circling out of danger, but still managed to come forward, and out-strike Diaz, landing, as you said, the more damaging blows of the bout. Guida, on the other hand, was backing out into space, feinting, switching stances, and then throwing a jab or two, with the odd cross mixed in here and there. I too refuse to score a fight in favour of a guy who is unwilling to come forward. I'm not saying you have to stand-and-bang in the center of the cage, but you have to make a genuine effort to land strikes, and try to inflict damage. You're not doing either by throwing a couple punches here and there, and dancing away when your opponent comes forward. I actually want to go back and put a stop watch on how long Guida simply moved around without purpose: feinting, switching stances, circling out, etc. Over a 25 minute fight, my guess would be somewhere in the 15-18 minute range. If more than half of a round goes by without you offering any offense, you better be lighting the other guy up in the other half if you think you're going to win the decision. Thanks for the thoughts... feel free to leave more!
E. Spencer Kyte
Roar Guru
Gray definitely hit a lot of air throughout the fight, but it's not about how many times you make the opponent miss: fights are scored on what you do offensively, and refusing to engage is not an offensive tactic that is going to win you many rounds. For me — and there is a column explaining this is greater detail — Guida was trying to use a Frankie Edgar/Dominick Cruz-like game plan - stick and move, avoiding any real damage. The problem, however, was that he didn't land nearly enough to counteract his backpedaling, and save for a couple good shots (one in the first, and the fifth round headkick), he didn't land with anything too serious. Conversely, Maynard had a couple solid flurries, primary from the Thai clinch, and he was the aggressor throughout. I also thought he did an admirable job adapting to Guida's game plan as best he could; he started cutting the cage off much better after the first two rounds, which is where the fight swung in his favour for me. Gray wasn't pleased with his display in the cage, I can tell you that, but he was frustrated. Nick Diaz does it and legions of fans adore him for it. That doesn't make it right, but it certainly doesn't make Maynard look like an amateur, at least not in my books. Thanks for the comment... keep'em coming!
AIS
Guest
Guida was essentially running. I refuse to give someone credit for avoiding damage when they weren't inflicting genuine damage of their own. You'll find many MMA fans who believe that Diaz beat Condit because Diaz was leading their "dance". Condit was the winner because he was inflicting most, if not all, of the genuine damage. Frank Mir once made a comment about Anderson Silva's performances, but mainly about the Demian Maia fight. He said that one can be elusive like Roy Jones Jr. or Mayweather, but as Jones Jr. and Mayweather would do, they must also impress with their offensive skills.
Jay
Guest
I'd disagree with you. I think Franklin showed Guida how it's done if you want to fight a "stick and move" type of fight in his fight against Silva. Guida just moved (ran away at one point and was officially warned). I don't think Maynard looked amateur. I agree he let his frustration get the better of him, but he was the only guy willing to engage. For the most part the fight was pretty even, but because of that Maynard was always going to win as he was trying to be the aggressor. In my opinion it was Guida who looked the amateur and harmed his reputation and career badly.
daniel01158
Guest
I have to respectfully disagree with your stance on the Guida-Maynard fight. I saw Maynard doing a whole lot of swing-and-miss. Also, I saw Maynard losing his cool because he did not like Guida's game plan. This obviously had a lot to do with Maynard's shadow boxing session. I have to give round 1, 2 and 4 to Guida. It was a close fight so I can understand why there are so many different opinions surrounding the result (also why it was a split-decision). On an unrelated note, Maynard should learn to adapt to his opponent better instead of cursing and crying like a little baby when his opponent doesn't play HIS game. Maynard made himself look like a real amateur that night.