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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
UFC lightweight Clay Guida has been a part of the UFC's roster for several years, but hasn't yet put together the wins to earn a shot at the UFC Lightweight Championship. As he enters his next biggest fight on Friday night against Gray Maynard on FX, what will it take to get him there?
"Running through Gray Maynard," Guida said in an interview with MMAWeekly.com. “He was the No. 1 contender for how long, probably two years. I had him No. 2 in the lightweight division all over the world for a couple years, and he had one of the wildest trilogies in MMA, let alone in the lightweight division with Frankie Edgar and he beat Frankie once, they had a draw, and he came up short on one fight.
"He's always up there. He's one of the only guys to have beaten Frankie besides Benson Henderson. That says a lot about my opponent and a win over him gets me right back in title contention I believe."
Friday's fight will be a five-round non-title main event, a factor that Guida believes benefits everyone, and he's expecting an excellent matchup from Maynard in Atlantic City.
"This is definitely tailor made for me," said Guida. "That's one thing when we asked for Gray Maynard, we asked for a five-round main event because we know it plays into our cards better. The fans win in this one; the UFC wins in this one."
Penick's Analysis: Guida needs a massive performance in this fight to get himself back into the veritable mix in the UFC's lightweight division. His loss to Benson Henderson last November is nothing to be ashamed of at all, and if he can turn around with a big win over a two-time title challenger, he'll absolutely keep himself in the conversation. It may take him a few fights still to get into a title fight itself, but this is as important a fight as he's had in his UFC career thus far.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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