Poor Gray Maynard. Of all the times for Raw Vegas to show up for one of their video interviews, they just had to come to the gym while he was having a particularly nasty outbreak of herpes. Leave it to Dave "No Ground Game" Farra to bust a guy’s balls over it, too. The worst part is that Maynard says he’s had the herp since he was a kid (he should have listened to his parents and not let that slutty neighborhood dog lick his face), so he didn’t even get to have the totally-not-worth-it few minutes of fun that most people receive as a herpes consolation prize, and that’s just not fair. Catching herpes without getting laid is like going broke on a prudent financial strategy. It’s just such a boring way for something bad to happen to you.
The good news is, now he gets to go rub his face all over aspiring actor/model Roger Huerta for fifteen minutes next Wednesday. See you in hell, pretty boy.
In this UFC 90 hype video Rich “No Love” Clementi claims that he was the only lightweight willing to step up and fight Gray Maynard, and he did so because he’s the type who “looks for challenges and adversity.” No disrespect to Maynard here, but since when did he become the guy who makes all other UFC lightweights run and hide? What, he holds Frankie Edgar down for three rounds and now we’re supposed to believe that the UFC has trouble finding an opponent for him?
This is the kind of thing that makes you wonder if matchmaker Joe Silva isn’t feeding all the fighters the same lines, like an unimaginative pick-up artist. Either he tells you that they’re offering you this fight because you’re the only one with the balls to take it, or else he says the winner gets a title shot. What’s weird is that those are the same pick-up lines I use. The results so far have been…mixed.
Check out the heavily edited and still kind of lame highlight clips of both Clementi and Maynard during this video. Notice how they include Maynard’s submission-inducing slam of Rob Emerson, but cut it before you have a chance to realize that he knocked himself out in the process. Clever. Also, is it just me, or are most of Clementi’s highlights not really so highlight-y?
(What no one told Gray Maynard about the UFC’s locker room bonuses is that if you win in spectacular fashion, you get a big check. But every time you notch a plodding decision, you get stuck with another orphan.)
A Gray Maynard fight is a little but like a Michael Bay movie.You always know exactly what you’re going to get, and even though it isn’t anything that’s going to change your life, it’s still not a terrible way to spend a Wednesday night if you go into it with the right attitude.What Maynard showed once again against a game Roger Huerta is that he’s patient.He said his plan was to move in and throw no more than two punches at a time before getting out, and that’s what he did.He wanted to avoid getting into a shootout with Huerta, and he was successful.In short, Maynard fought the smartest fight he could in order to guarantee victory.So why does the possibility of him getting a title shot seem more like a threat than a hopeful promise?
It’s simple, really, and the answer lies with Nate Quarry, who also won a decision on last night’s Fight Night card, pocketing a Fight of the Night bonus in the process.As Quarry said in his pre-fight comments, you don’t become a legend by winning decisions.Unless, as was the case in his bout with Credeur, those decisions come at the end of a back-and-forth slugfest.The point is, nobody likes to see a fighter play it safe.Limiting yourself to two-punch combos may be a great way to limit the possibility of being caught with a good counter, but it’s a horrible way to make fans excited about seeing you fight, which is exactly what Maynard himself said is standing in between him and a potential title shot.
The look on Frankie Edgar’s face said it all the second Bruce Buffer broke the news that his UFC 125 bout with Gray Maynard had ended in a stalemate.
Having just endured the worst beating of his life in a single round of MMA before roaring back to win more rounds, but earn the same amount of points than Maynard in the eyes of *some* of the judges (and most pundits and fans), he knew he was going to have to go to war again with "The Bully."
Edgar walked away from the bout with a nasal fracture, a few bruises and a bad taste in his mouth, considering Maynard, who took a unanimous decision the first time the pair met in 2008, was still up one fight to none.
On the mend and with a May 28 UFC 130 date in Las Vegas penciled in for the do-over, Edgar sat down with New York-based Cage Potato correspondent Brian Dermody to chat about a variety of topics including his last fight, immediate rematches, the contenders to his belt and oblivious reporters.
Check out what "The Answer" had to say after the jump.
The first UFC title fight of 2011 is just eleven days away, which means it’s time to drag out some stats and see who holds the advantages in the Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard rematch — on paper, at least. As we all know, anything can happen in the cage. Seriously. This one could end in a unanimous decision, it could end in a split decision, a majority decision…you just never know.
BIGGEST CAREER WIN Edgar: Defended his lightweight title in a 50-45 x 3 shutout against BJ Penn at UFC 118. Maynard: Routed Kenny Florian the same night to win the #1 lightweight contender spot. Advantage: Edgar
MOST PAINFUL LOSS Edgar: His UFC Fight Night 13 decision loss against, you guessed it, Gray Maynard. It’s still the only loss on Edgar’s record. Maynard: He’s never lost in professional competition, though he was submitted by Nate Diaz on TUF 5 (a loss he avenged later at UFC Fight Night 20) and accidentally knocked himself out in a no-contest against Rob Emerson. Advantage: Maynard
UFC FINISHING RATIO Edgar: 22% (2 stoppage wins in 9 fights) Maynard: 11% (1 stoppage win in 9 fights) Advantage: Edgar
(Take it easy, Gray. The bag didn’t know she was your girlfriend.)
by Cage Potato contributor Elias Cepeda
Despite being undefeated, Gray Maynard (10-0) was overlooked earlier this year for a title shot in favor of a man who he had recently beat handily, Frankie Edgar. Now that Edgar has made good and won the UFC lightweight title from BJ Penn, Maynard discusses still wanting a title shot and the possibility that he may get passed over again.
Gray, there was a great case for you deserving the next title shot against BJ Penn, being undefeated and having dominated Frankie Edgar when you fought him in April of 2008. Yet, Edgar got the shot and ended up beating Penn to win the title. How closely were you watching the fight Saturday?
I was kind of checking it out of course. It didn’t really hit me until the calls were coming in and I got a ton of texts that I did really have a chance to go for the belt. Then, of course I got pumped up.
With UFC president Dana White’s proclamation from the United Arab Emirates this week that should lightweight champion BJ Penn beat Frankie Edgar at UFC 112, he will have cleared out the division and will likely move up to try another run at the welterweight belt, many fans and pundits were left wondering, what about Gray Maynard?
To most, the tough undefeated Phoenix Arizona native seemed like a shoe-in for the next shot at his former Ultimate Fighter Season 5 coach’s belt, but he was inexplicably leapfrogged by Frankie Edgar for the title berth, despite the fact that Maynard handily defeated him two years ago at UFC Fight Night 13: Florian vs. Lauzon. It seems that White is in the minority in his opinion that “Maynard isn’t ready for a title fight yet,” as he told MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani in an interview on Thursday at the Concert Arena in Abu Dhabi.
According to Maynard, White’s remark comes as no surprise, and although he doesn’t necessarily agree with the sentiment, he says he’s willing to wait until he gets his shot.
As you’ll see in the above video (starting at the 0:57 mark), Maynard catches Veres with a lead left hook almost immediately, and makes it official with some gnarly shots from the top. Total time expenditure: 9 seconds. Since that night, the UFC lightweight contender has spent two hours and 10 minutes of fight time without a stoppage. But hey, there’s always next time…
It looks like Gray Maynard will be eating Brazilian kicks and punches for Christmas in the delicacy’s native land.
The former number one UFC lightweight contender will be in Rio de Janeiro for the next few weeks to help UFC featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo prepare for his January 14 UFC 142 bout with Chad Mendes. Aldo invited “The Bully” to Brazil as his style is very similar to Mendes’. Gray arrived on Wednesday and will stick around until after the event in three weeks.
Say you lost a decision in a close fight that you feel you deserved to win. You really have only two possible ways to respond: 1) Shrug, say you did your best, and remind everyone that this is why you don’t leave it in the hands of the judges, or 2) make a video of yourself in the parking lot of a 24-Hour Fitness showing off the remarkable lack of facial damage that you sustained in the fight, proving unequivocally that you got straight-up screwed, homey.
If you know anything at all about Nate Diaz, you know which option he decided to go with. Nate posted this video to his Twitter today, following an earlier message stating that he’s watched the fight three times since Monday and has come to the conclusion that he won — get this — all three rounds. Added Diaz: "fuck the haters…"
(In a related story, Roy Nelson was recently diagnosed with advanced dickdo disease.)
Well, we saw this one coming a mile away. After suffering a “minor knee injury” back in September, Shane Carwin has now pulled out of his scheduled fight against Roy Nelson at the TUF 16 Finale on December 15th, due to a knee injury that may or may not be related to the last one. UFC president Dana White confirmed the bad news last night, and said that the promotion is looking for a new opponent for Nelson.
It’s a terrible setback for Carwin, who hasn’t competed snce June 2011 due to a series of neck and back surgeries, and was already forced to drop out of a fight with Nelson at UFC 125. Carwin hasn’t won a fight since his knockout of Frank Mir in March 2010, and at age 37, his competitive days are running out. There’s no word yet on the severity of Shane’s injury, or when he might return to action.
And by the way, this means that five of the last seven U.S. seasons of TUF — 10, 11, 13, 15, and now 16 — as well as one of the two international seasons (TUF Brazil), have ended with the coaches’ fight being canceled or delayed. Spooky. We’ll let you know when Roy Nelson picks up his replacement opponent. Our suggestion: How about Pat Barry, who’s already booked on the card against Shane Del Rosario?
And hey, speaking of UFC stars who have to pull out of fights next month due to knee injuries…
Of all the seasons of The Ultimate Fighterto have produced upper-echelon fighters and title challengers at 155 lbs., who would’ve guessed that the season that coined the phrase “Wang and Bang” would one day rule them all? Not only is Nate Diaz next in line for a shot at Ben Henderson, but former title challenger Gray Maynard has just been booked to take on perennial contender Joe Lauzon in a battle that will easily launch the victor onto the short list of contenders at lightweight.
After spending the entirety of 2011 feuding with former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, which ended in his first career defeat, Maynard recently bounced back into the win column with a controversial split decision win over Clay Guida in the main event of UFC on FX 4. Although Maynard was thoroughly out-hustled for the majority of the fight, the significance of his offense in the latter rounds combined with Guida’s lack thereof was enough to earn him the nod.
Maynard will be facing the always entertaining Lauzon, who is currently 3-2 in his past five and most recently scored a third round triangle submission victory against former WEC champion Jamie Varner in their classic scrap at UFC on FOX 4. Lauzon has struggled in the past when facing top contenders, having dropped fights to Kenny Florian and Anthony Pettis in the past, but has also finished his opponents in all 22 of his victories. And although his cardio looked the best against Varner that it arguably ever has, there is no doubt that Maynard’s experience in the championship rounds will pay huge dividends if Lauzon isn’t able to put him away earlier.
After the jump: An update on Matt Hamill’s return to the octagon. Spoiler: His opponent just got a lot tougher.
Next Wednesday Gray Maynard will try to help escort Roger Huerta out of the UFC at Spike TV’s Fight Night 19.In talking with him for an SI.com feature this week, “The Bully” expressed an unwavering desire to stay out of whatever drama may be going on between Huerta and the UFC, but he also expects to put some of his newly-developed skills on display in hopes of getting MMA fans to finally stand up and take notice of him.
When we saw you in your last fight against Jim Miller, you seemed to have really improved your boxing skills, and that surprised some people.
Yeah, I got with a coach, Gil Martinez, who helped coach [Randy] Couture.I’ve been with him for about a year and a half now.When I was getting prepared for [Frankie] Edgar I knew I had to get it going.I’ve been going with him pretty much every day.He has a small gym and he has a bunch of kids who can really box.I’ve been going over there and doing drills and training every day.He’s a great coach.I was able to do a little bit against Edgar, where that fight was about half stand-up.It’s slow to develop.It takes time.
("I’ve been doing this too long to take things for granted. I’ve seen it happen too often where a guy loses and then comes back and wins." Photo courtesy of UFC.com)
By CagePotato.com contributor Elias Cepeda
There’s a fun game you can play with undefeated UFC lightweight Gray Maynard: Ask him to name, let alone talk about, someone he’s beaten. He can’t do it.
It should be easy for the #1 title contender — he’s had just eleven fights in his four-and-a-half year MMA career, and hasn’t lost a single one. He has many more wins to choose from if you include his entire amateur wrestling career that dates back to his childhood.
Still, as he sits during some downtime between training on the Saturday exactly two weeks before he will face UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar at UFC 125 in Las Vegas, Maynard’s brain freezes when asked about his wins. Gray isn’t difficult to speak with, and his mind is sound. It just works a bit differently than most of ours.
Ask Maynard who he’s lost to and he can rattle ten names off in a row. “People say, ‘oh, you’ve never lost.’ Sure I have. I’ve been in combat sports since I was a kid and have lost lots of times from when I was three all the way through college.”
Gray seems to remember every time he’s come up short on the mats — recalling even grade-school losses with gritted teeth. “They still irk me today,” he says.
(Now that we’ve seen Gray’s sparring partners, his boast about having never lost a round in training seems a little less impressive.)
By Elias Cepeda for CagePotato.com
When Gray Maynard (9-0-1) got matched up with Roger Huerta last September, many picked the former Michigan State Wrestler to steamroll the cover boy and aspiring movie actor. And though Maynard clearly and cleanly won, it was a tough-fought decision victory.
Fortunately for the Xtreme Couture team member, he fully expected a hard fight from Huerta, even if others did not. “He can scramble really well, he’s good inside and he can box,” Maynard says. “You’ve got to give him more credit. He doesn’t quit so you know it’s going to be a tough one.”
The win was the undefeated lightweight’s sixth consecutive in the UFC and observers wonder how close Maynard is to getting a title shot. Despite one of the most impressive runs in the division and wins over other top guys like Frankie Edgar, the timing hasn’t quite worked out for Maynard yet and he’s yet to be booked for a championship bout.
UFC.com has confirmed that UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and #1 contender Gray Maynard have both suffered injuries in their training camps, and will not be able to face each other in their scheduled main event trilogy fight at UFC 130 (May 28th, Las Vegas). According to MMAFighting’s sources, Edgar picked up two broken ribs, while Maynard suffered a knee injury — especially unfortunate, considering that the UFC is planning to cover these sorts of injuries starting next month.
If you think Gilbert Melendez deserves an immediate rematch, don’t bother reading the article. Just stare at this GIF for five seconds and go directly to the comments section.
If you watched UFC on Fox 7′s main event between UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson and former Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez, you saw an extremely close fight. In the end, Henderson walked away with a split decision victory that many fans felt should have went to Melendez. While the debate over who won the fight continues to rage on [Author Note: For what it's worth, Fight Metric stats seem to confirm that Henderson won.], the talks of an immediate rematch have already been squashed.
By the end of the post-event press conference, Dana White confirmed that the winner of the upcoming bout between Gray Maynard and TJ Grant at UFC 160 – which takes place on May 25 – is next in line for a shot at the lightweight title. At this time, there is no target date for Henderson’s next title defense. In White’s own words:
“Gray Maynard is ranked number three. TJ Grant is ranked number seven. Those guys are gonna fight at UFC 160 on May 25. The winner of that fight is gonna fight Ben Henderson next.”
After landing big wins at UFC Fight Night 19, Nate Diaz and Gray Maynard have been booked to face each other in the main event of the UFC’s next Fight Night show, which will go down January 11th at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia. But it won’t be the first time the two lightweight contenders have gone toe to toe. During his dominant run on TUF 5, Diaz submitted Maynard by guillotine choke in the semi-finals. Since then, Maynard has surpassed Diaz in the 155-pound pecking order, going 6-0 with one no-contest, including decision wins over Frank Edgar, Jim Miller, and Roger Huerta. Diaz went 4-0 after winning his TUF contract, but then lost back-to-back fights to Clay Guida and Joe Stevenson before breaking his skid against Melvin Guillard last month.
If he’s victorious, Maynard could find himself squarely in title contention, though a match against the winner of Florian/Guida at UFC 107 seems like a logical eliminator fight. Fun fact: Diaz has won an end-of-night bonus (either Submission of the Night or Fight of the Night) in each one of his last five appearances. Any predictions on how this one will go down?
(Dan Miragliotta explains to Guida the maximum amount of miles allowed to run in the octagon without penalty.)
After a brief hiatus, Dana White has returned with the daily dose of heartbreak that is the Danavlog to remind us all of the downsides of being a f*cking fighter. Thankfully, not all of us take the phrase as literally as Brazilians do. But the main lesson we took away from today’s episode is simple: what you don’t pay in gym fees, you will more than make up for in blood. Nick Catone, Joey Gambino, and Ross Pearson were just a few of the men to walk away from their bouts with some gruesome lacerations and another (or in Gambino’s case, a first) loss on their record. A tough day at the office indeed.
“Boring,” and “sucked” were just a couple of words that White used to describe the five round affair between Clay Guida and Gray Maynard, a sentiment that most fans seemed to agree with when all was said and done. And regardless of who you thought won that fight, you could probably understand a little bit of Gray’s frustration with the Steve Prefontainian conundrum that Guida brought to the octagon. This frustration became all the more apparent when the two met backstage, where some less than positive remarks were exchanged between the two camps. Oddly enough, it all began when Guida uncharacteristically complained about the judges decision, despite the fact that Napoleon was closer to conquering Russia than Guida ever was to finishing that fight, or even attempting to for that matter.
Previous experiments have involved a flat iron and a tub of Crisco.
We enjoy a great hairdo as much as the next guy, but it’s not often that one plays a role in the outcome of a fight. Back in the day, Jason Fairn and Guy Mezger famously made a gentlemen’s agreement not to tug on each other’s locks during their fight, and more recently Louis Gaudinot has considered chopping off his tresses after his hair hampered his performance against John Lineker. Those men took a look in the mirror and decided the fate of their own follicles, an option that has sadly been taken out of the hands of Clay Guida.
“The Carpenter’s” signature coiffure was recently placed on the proverbial chopping block after Gray Maynard‘s camp filed a formal complaint with the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board. Sanctioning bodies are responsible for determining “whether head or facial hair presents any hazard to the safety of the unarmed combatant or his opponent or will interfere with the supervision and conduct of the contest or exhibition.” Though Guida has the right to contest Camp Maynard’s objection to his hair, he has opted to braid his Medusa-like top for their bout rather than bog himself down with legal wranglings.
Gray Maynard has never been the most popular UFC fighter. Maybe it’s because it’s almost impossible to picture him as an underdog; he’s an enormous lightweight who lives up his “Bully” moniker. (His choice of entrance music probably doesn’t do him any favors, either.) He’s always Goliath, and in our society we’re conditioned to root for David. That attitude was epitomized in Frankie Edgar’s back-to-back comebacks against him, with the crowd firmly in favor of the smaller fighter who seemed to rely on his will and technique, while Maynard relied on his size and power. As long as Maynard’s achievements were contextualized within that narrative, he would always be the villain.
Clay Guida won the first two rounds of their main event last night by constantly remaining out of Maynard’s reach, dictating the pace, occasionally landing jabs, and landing a solid head kick in the latter half of the second round. The action had been sparse throughout, but it seemed understandable; Guida obviously didn’t want to engage Maynard head on at first, he’d tire him out and then wear him down. Well, that didn’t happen. For the majority of the third round, Guida squandered whatever momentum he may have built by circling, dancing, and circling some more. It was UFC 112 Anderson Silva on meth. By the end of the round, Maynard was flailing with power punches, frustrated by Guida’s unwillingness to engage.
Midway through the fourth round, Maynard had enough. With Guida still circling and refusing to engage, Maynard finally grabbed a hold of him, landed some knees and then proceeding to embody the audience’s frustrations by dropping his hands and bellowing epithets, daring Guida to just stop running and hit him. Guida proceeded to oblige him, only to have Maynard walk through a hard overhand right, stuff a takedown and almost secure an arm-in guillotine in an unprecedented display of attitude and badassery that it actually caused fans to cheer him. Round 5 was unfortunately more of the same, which is to say, not much at all.
(I tell you what, if Maynard is able to catch Grant in his patented Indian rug burn, this shit is gonna be all over.)
Figuratively speaking, Gray Maynard has not been involved in a UFC fight since he came up short against Frankie Edgar at UFC 136 in October of 2011. Sure, he did his best to nullify the “offense” of Clay Guida at UFC on FX 4 last June, but that exercise in tedium was less a fight and more like watching your cataract-stricken friend try to wrangle up all the cuccos in Kakariko Village on The Legend of Zelda. Although ”The Bully” was expected to face Joe Lauzon at UFC 155last December, he was forced out of the bout with a knee injury that has sidelined him ever since.
But if the above gif is any indication, Maynard has been staying quite active on the sidelines and will be more than ready for his return to the octagon on May 25th at UFC 160, where he will face the streaking veteran T.J. Grant in a battle of top contenders. Grant has been on something resembling a killing spree lately, collecting four straight wins including a first round annihilation of Matt Wiman at UFC on Fox 6 last month. The far-and-away most impressive aspect of Grant’s recent wins has been the drastic improvement to his stand up game, an attribute he credits to the time he spent training in Thailand.
Can you guys imagine what the MMA landscape will be like if Nate Diaz is able to defeat Ben Henderson on Saturday, thus becoming the lightweight champion? For starters, this article will be the first and last time you ever see the word “thus” in a sentence where the subject is a Diaz, but on the grander scale, just try and imagine the ways a Diaz with a belt will throw a wrench into the UFC’s plans. Interviews snippets will be so short and incoherent that MMA writers will be forced to resort to rambling, ludicrous conspiracy theories just to pass the time. And as for the brand-promoting public appearances that have become the standard for a champion? You can forget about those; we’re talking about a man who once tried to fight a fictional Brazilian character at a Jiu-Jitsu expo for Christ’s sake. If one fan even mentions the Maynard fight around Diaz in public, the UFC will probably have a full-scale riot on their hands.
If you would, just picture Nate Diaz at an anti-bullying seminar for a moment. After showing up 3 hours late and being reluctantly called to the stage, Diaz will deliver a one minute diatribe aimed at America’s “faggoty yoots“ who should “just like, yeah, I dunno” before calling out “that bitch Georges,” his eyes never lifting from the linoleum floor. When he is informed that he is in fact the lightweight champion and can’t fight GSP right now, Diaz will declare that he’s “done with this shit” before slapping that stupid ass hat off the school’s gym teacher on his way out the door. Simply put, it will be glorious.
Anyway, MMAInterviews recently asked a bevy of pros including Frankie Edgar, Randy Couture, Gray Maynard, and Donald Cerrone to determine the likelihood of a world in which a Diaz is champion, and believe it or not, the overwhelming majority of them believe it’s something we should start preparing ourselves for.
(I’ll take “Injuries that make me reconsider my line of work” for a thousand, Alex.)
Good morning, Potato Nation. As we’re all still nursing hangovers from this weekend’s festivities and trying to cope with the fact that there will be no more The Walking Dead until next fall, let’s start the day off with a bit of light reading.
What’s that, you say? Rich Franklin is also a movie star and Cung Le could probably teach math? Well, there’s no room for that kind of intolerance around here, especially not this early in the morning, so we suggest you pull your heads out of your collective asses. Besides, Rich Franklin is definitely not a movie star.
This will be Franklin’s first fight at middleweight since April of 2008, when he dispatched TUF 4 winner Travis Lutter via second round TKO back at UFC 83. In fact, it’s been a while since we’ve seen “Ace” in the octagon at all. After dropping a unanimous decision to Forrest Griffin at UFC 126, Franklin was expected to face Antonio Rogerio Nogueria at UFC 133. The bout was cancelled, however, after Nogueria suffered a last minute injury, and a subsequent shoulder injury forced Franklin into surgery in October.
Cung Le appeared to be destined for victory in his UFC debut match against Wanderlei Silva at UFC 139 last November, picking apart the former PRIDE middleweight champ with his patented arsenal of San Shou kicks throughout the first round. But as in his fight with Scott Smith at Strikeforce: Evolution, Le would snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, eating one knee too many in the second round and dropping his second career loss to “The Axe Murderer” in the second round of their co-headlining scrap. Also similar to the Smith fight would be the horrific nose injury that Le would walk away with.
Finally, some interesting stuff from Gray Maynard. The No. 1 contender for the UFC lightweight title – and one of the most hated-on guys in the industry — has some harsh words for on-deck championship challenger Anthony Pettis in this new interview with MMAFA.tv. Also, a bit later on it sounds suspiciously like he’s referring to light heavyweight champion Jon Jones when he remarks that people in MMA today like “shit that isn’t real.” There are some unusually probing questions here too from Jon Luther, who does a nice job going above and beyond the normal, “So, how’s training going?” of your typical MMA interview. Some choice cuts from Maynard are after the jump.
TapouT’s Mike Straka recently caught up with Frankie Edgar to see how the UFC lightweight champ’s back rehab is coming along and an interesting nugget came out of the conversation. Apparently Edgar’s New Jersey-based boxing trainer Mark Henry was calling for the towel to be thrown in during the trouncing Edgar took in his January 1 UFC 125 bout with Gray Maynard.
Edgar said that Henry’s emotions got the best of him, and he mistakenly says it wouldn’t have mattered had he thrown in the towel as it isn’t a recognized gesture in the UFC. I guess “The Answer” never saw Royce Gracie’s corner throw in the towel prior to the start of his bout with Harold Howard at UFC 3.
Technically, the towel throw is a foul that is usually punishable by the opposing fighter being awarded the win due to disqualification.
Here’s the list of fouls under UFC rules:
1. Butting with the head. 2. Eye gouging of any kind. 3. Biting. 4. Hair pulling. 5. Fish hooking. 6. Groin attacks of any kind. 7. Putting a finger into any orifice or into any cut or laceration on an opponent. 8. Small joint manipulation. 9. Striking to the spine or the back of the head. 10. Striking downward using the point of the elbow. 11. Throat strikes of any kind, including, without limitation, grabbing the trachea. 12. Clawing, pinching or twisting the flesh. 13. Grabbing the clavicle. 14. Kicking the head of a grounded opponent. 15. Kneeing the head of a grounded opponent. 16. Stomping a grounded opponent. 17. Kicking to the kidney with the heel. 18. Spiking an opponent to the canvas on his head or neck. 19. Throwing an opponent out of the ring or fenced area. 20. Holding the shorts or gloves of an opponent. 21. Spitting at an opponent. 22. Engaging in an unsportsmanlike conduct that causes an injury to an opponent. 23. Holding the ropes or the fence. 24. Using abusive language in the ring or fenced area. 25. Attacking an opponent on or during the break. 26. Attacking an opponent who is under the care of the referee. 27. Attacking an opponent after the bell has sounded the end of the period of unarmed combat. 28. Flagrantly disregarding the instructions of the referee. 29. Timidity, including, without limitation, avoiding contact with an opponent, intentionally or consistently dropping the mouthpiece or faking an injury. 30. Interference by the corner. 31. Throwing in the towel during competition.
In other words, Edgar lucked out that Henry didn’t have a towel, or he may have lost his belt. Instead, he roared back to eke out a draw against Maynard and ensured a rematch.
The transcript of the interview is after the jump for those who can’t watch the video.
Sure, it’s not exactly proof that he’s a better athlete than a pro football player or that his pugilistic skills are better than James Toney’s, but you have to admit Gray’s numbers are at least a bit impressive.
The Sports Science lab measured the grip strength and the punching power of “The Bully” and it seems that doing rope climbs and hitting the heavy bag are paying off in dividends for Maynard.
Remember when we told you that the Fighters Only World MMA Awards were last Wednesday on Versus? Well, what we meant was that the live online broadcast was happening on Versus.com, and the actual Versus television broadcast is this Thursday at 10 p.m. ET. (I know, we’ve done a great job of promoting it so far.) Even if you have no intention of tuning in, you may want to check out these sort-of-funny promo skits starring MMA fighters, which has become an annual tradition for the show. In the above clip, Randy Couture visits the Pawn Stars gang to get rid of some used property. Yeah, it’s kind of awkward when he sells Natasha Wicks into white slavery at the end, but come on, "eight year abs" is a good one. Ah, what do you know from funny, ya bastards.
(Supernanny choke: no can defend)
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