Gray Maynard

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?

(Bibiano Fernandes reacts after submitting Joe Warren at DREAM.11. Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)

Following recent events in the UFC, WEC, DREAM, and Sengoku, we've updated the featherweight and lightweight pages in our Power Rankings section. To summarize...

FW: Bibiano Fernandes enters for the first time. Hatsu Hioki and Raphael Assuncao rise slightly, while Wagnney Fabiano plummets. WEC 44's scrap between Mike Brown and Jose Aldo could alter the top 5. Josh Grispi and L.C. Davis lie just outside the top 10.

LW: Gray Maynard enters for the first time. Shinya Aoki solidifies his place at #2, while Joachim Hansen and Gesias Cavalcante fall. Josh Thomson officially drops off the list due to inactivity, but if he can make it through a training camp without injuring himself, the winner of the rematch between him and Gilbert Melendez could potentially re-enter. Mizuto Hirota and Tyson Griffin are also close. UFC 107's match between BJ Penn and Diego Sanchez could alter the top 5.

Give 'em a look and let us know how you feel...

("Listen, Gray, if you promise to stay away from my face, I think I can hook you up with a role in my next project. We're doing a movie adaptation of 'Big Buck Hunter.' Should be hot." Photo courtesy of this set on CombatLifestyle.)

Spoiler alert: UFC Fight Night 19 is being broadcast on tape-delay in some parts of the country, so check your local listings before continuing if you want to keep your viewing experience pure. Now then, it's time to see if weed-strength can overcome cocaine-quickness, and how Roger Huerta's farewell performance will be received by the toughest critics of all — Gray Maynard's fists. Live results await you after the jump; refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and let us know how you're feelin' in the comments section.

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.

No, your eyes are not deceiving you. We just received the above poster image in our inbox, in which Nate Diaz (who's coming off back-to-back losses to Clay Guida and Joe Stevenson) and Melvin Guillard (cokehead) appear to be headlining the next UFC Fight Night card over top lightweight contender Gray Maynard and Roger Huerta, who used to be the UFC's Great Brown Hope until he started talking out of turn. Of course, most fans are just going to be happy to see two great lightweight matchups on free TV, not realizing the passive aggressive jab of disrespect that's going on here. (Honestly, I can't wait to hear Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg's spin on why Diaz vs. Guillard is main-event-worthy.) But hey, good luck to Nate — when was the last time a fighter was given a headlining slot and a "win or go home" match on the same night?

UFC Fight Night 19 will serve as a lead-in to the premiere of Kimbo's House (aka TUF 10). Tickets to the event go on sale this week; the current lineup is after the jump.