UFC on FX 4 Preview
The Lightweight division has been one of the most competitive divisions in the UFC for the past few years. There have been plenty of champions and great challengers throughout the year with the title exchanging hands a few times. As of right now Ben Henderson is the champion after beating Frankie Edgar for the title in Japan. The title will be up for grabs again as Edgar will get his rematch later this year. With the title already spoken for the rest of the lightweight division continues to churn to find out who could be next. There are plenty of fighters that have a shot in the lightweight division which makes it difficult to make a name for yourself. With so many great fighters there is no easy fight as every fight requires the focus of a title fight. Nobody knows this better than the two fighters who will face off at UFC on FX 4. Gray Maynard and Clay Guida are two fighters who have sat at the top of the Lightweight division for years. Both have become the measuring stick for lightweight fighters who want to get their title shot. Clay Guida has had much more experience being this measuring stick as he has been one of the top lightweights for years in the UFC but he has struggled to get to the top of the heap. Maynard does not have as much experience in this role but he has quickly become a measuring stick after a memorable trilogy against former champion Frankie Edgar. Both fighters are coming off of losses but both were nothing to be ashamed of as Guida lost to current champion Benson Henderson and Maynard lost to former champion Frankie Edgar. They will both be looking for a win to get back on the right path to a title shot. It is a realistic shot that a win in this fight could mean a title shot against either Ben Henderson or Frankie Edgar. That is not a guarantee for these fighters though but it will be a good step in the right direction. It will be an interesting fight between two contrasting styles. Gray Maynard is a calculated striker who has a great wrestling background. Maynard has great hands and when he can catch his opponent he will jump on them to finish the fight. This style is much different from Guida who looks to have that killer instinct from the opening bell. Guida’s style can be described simply as coming forward as he sprints out to take the centre of the octagon and pushing the pace to overdrive. Few people can keep up with Guida and because of this he catches a lot of fighters off guard. This is generally how he wins fights as he pushes other fighters to an uncomfortable position where he finishes them off. As a result of this style Guida has become one of the most exciting fighter in the UFC. He will look to put on another great show against Gray Maynard live on FX as he tries to take another step towards the title. This fight should be an entertaining one as both fighters have the ability to finish a fight but Guida has been doing this for a while and seems to be slowing down. He is still one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC but his forward pressing style may feed into Gray Maynard’s ability to counter. With the power Maynard has he may be able to catch Guida coming forward to end the fight quickly. I think he will catch Guida but not enough to stop him but the damage will be done as Maynard will take the win via Unanimous Decision.
Before these two elite lightweights face off there will be another lightweight bout that looks to settle one of the classic lightweight rivalries. Spencer Fisher and Sam Stout have already faced off twice in their careers although they were both early in their careers. In 2006 Stout and Fisher faced off for the first time as Sam Stout made an impression in his first UFC bout winning a split decision. Thanks to the split decision and the fact that the first fight was a war meant both of these fighters needed to face off again. In their second bout, in 2007, Fisher took his second chance beating Stout in a unanimous decision. Since then both fighters have gone up and down in the lightweight division with flashes of brilliance and moments of difficulty. Stout has been able to string together some streaks but has not been able to get any extended winning streak going to earn a title shot. Fisher has been much the same as he has won a few fights and then lost a few as he has been unable to string together a significant streak. Both fighters are coming off of loses as well and are looking to get back into the win column to begin a run at the title. It has taken a while for these two fighters to face off again but both need this fight in order to show they still belong in the UFC and belong at the top of the division. They will meet for the third time to settle the score in a fight that in no way will go to the ground. Both Stout and Fisher are technical strikers who do not like to go to the ground and instead love to stand and trade. The fight will be a matchup of two fighters on very similar paths and the final fight in a long time trilogy that should be a great prelude to the all-out main event.
Fight Card:
Main Event:
Gray “The Bully” Maynard vs. Clay “The Carpenter” Guida (Sportsnet)
Main Card:
Sam “Hands of Stone” Stout vs. Spencer “The King” Fisher (Sportsnet)
Brian “Bad Boy” Ebersole vs. TJ Waldburger (Sportsnet)
Ross “The Real Deal” Pearson vs. Cub Swanson (Sportsnet)
Undercard:
Hatsu Hioki vs. Ricardo “The Bully” Lamas (Sportsnet)
Ramsey Nijem vs. C.J. Keith (Sportsnet)
Rick “The Horror” Story vs. Brock “The Machine” Jardine (Sportsnet)
Steven “Super” Siler vs. Joey Gambino (Sportsnet)
Nick “The Jersey Devil” Catone vs. Chris Camozzi (Sportsnet)
Matt “The Immortal” Brown vs. Luis “Beicao” Ramos (Sportsnet)
Dan Miller vs. Ricardo “Golden Boy” Funch (Facebook)
Ken Stone vs. Dustin “The Disciple” Pague
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