Tag: Clay Guida

Clay Guida’s late-career goals include having most takedowns, most fights in UFC history

“I want to have the most takedowns in UFC history and the most fights.”

Entering his 34th UFC fight, [autotag]Clay Guida[/autotag] has racked up plenty of stats.

Guida (37-19 MMA, 17-16 UFC), who made his octagon debut in 2006, meets Scott Holtzman (14-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) at Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 42 event at Amway Center in Orlando, Fla. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.

The 40-year-old is still trucking, but what does he want to be remembered by? There are a few records Guida is chasing.

“Always just go out there and be consistent,” Guida told reporters at Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 42 media day. “We’re always gonna go out there and put on a show, be entertaining, fight at a high pace, and be exciting.”

He continued, “I want to be known for being one of the most entertaining fighters of all time. I want to have the most takedowns in UFC history and the most fights. So right now Jim Miller is ahead of me for most fights. I got some work to do there because he’s got No. 41 coming up, which is pretty amazing. Yeah, we just keep taking guys down and holding them there.”

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If Guida can land at least three takedowns against Holtzman, he’ll move to third place all-time for most takedowns landed in UFC history. Guida’s 72 takedowns landed in UFC competition are fifth-most in company history behind Georges St-Pierre (90), Gleison Tibau (84), Demetrious Johnson (74), and Frankie Edgar (73).

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 42.

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UFC on ESPN 42 pre-event facts: Darren Elkins reaches historic milestone

The best facts and figures for Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 42, where several familiar veterans have a shot at history.

The UFC returns to Florida on Saturday for UFC on ESPN 42, which takes place at Amway Center in Orlando with a card that airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.

A welterweight headliner will close out the card as longtime contender [autotag]Stephen Thompson[/autotag] (16-6-1 MMA, 11-6-1 UFC) will search for his first win in two years when he takes on [autotag]Kevin Holland[/autotag] (23-8 MMA, 9-5 UFC).

For more on the numbers behind the main event, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts for UFC on ESPN 42.

Clay Guida booked for 60th pro fight, faces Scott Holtzman at UFC Fight Night in December

At the UFC Fight Night event targeted for Orlando, Clay Guida will make his 60th pro walk and his 33 in the promotion.

The next time UFC Hall of Fame’s [autotag]Clay Guida[/autotag] steps inside the octagon, it’ll mark a milestone.

One fight shy of 60, Guida (37-22 MMA, 18-14 UFC) will hit the mark Dec. 3 when he battles [autotag]Scott Holtzman[/autotag] (14-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) at a UFC Fight Night event targeted for Orlando.

Two people with knowledge of the booking recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. The news was first revealed by Holtzman.

In addition to his 60-fight milestone, Guida, 40, will make his 33rd appearance in the UFC. Despite his longevity in the sport, Guida continues to find spurts of success. He’s 2-2 in his most recent four, alternating wins and losses. He most recently competed in April when he was submitted by Claudio Puelles in Round 1.

Holtzman, 38, looks to turn his luck around after back-to-back losses to Beneil Dariush and Mateusz Gamrot. Both were by knockout. Prior to the recent skid, Holtzman won consecutive fights against Dong Hyun Ma and Jim Miller.

With the addition, the UFC Fight Night lineup for Dec. 3 includes:

  • Derek Brunson vs. Jack Hermansson
  • Tracy Cortez vs. Amanda Ribas
  • Matheus Nicolau vs. Matt Schnell
  • Eryk Anders vs. Kyle Daukaus
  • Francis Marshall vs. Marcelo Rojo
  • Natan Levy vs. Genaro Valdez
  • Marc Diakiese vs. Michael Johnson
  • Clay Guida vs. Scott Holtzman
  • Emily Ducote vs. Angela Hill
  • Clay Guida vs. Scott Holtzman

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UFC Fight Night 205 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Program total passes $8.5 million

UFC Fight Night 205 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 205 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $149,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC Fight Night 205 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 205 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Claudio Puelles[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Clay Guida[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Maycee Barber[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Montana De La Rosa[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Charles Jourdain[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Lando Vannata[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Marc-Andre Barriault[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Sergey Khandozhko[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Dwight Grant[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Tyson Pedro[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Ike Villanueva[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Aori Qileng[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Cameron Else[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Preston Parsons[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Evan Elder[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Philipe Lins[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Marcin Prachnio[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Mike Jackson[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Dean Barry[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2057 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2051 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2022 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $2,470,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $8,638,000

UFC Fight Night 205 results: Claudio Puelles wins fifth straight with slick kneebar submission of Clay Guida

The third kneebar submission of Claudio Puelles’ UFC career happened at lightning speed.

Add another kneebar submission to [autotag]Claudio Puelles[/autotag]’ record.

Puelles said heading into UFC Fight Night 205 that he wanted to use [autotag]Clay Guida'[/autotag]s name to make a statement, and he did just that on Saturday night by making the gritty veteran tap out to a kneebar at the 3:01 mark of the first round of their lightweight bout.

It was the third kneebar submission victory of Puelles’ six-fight UFC tenure and fourth overall of his career. The victory pushed the 26-year-old Peruvian’s winning streak to five fights, and he’s seemed to reach a new level since moving to live in South Florida and train at Sanford MMA.

It could be time for Puelles to face a ranked lightweight next.

“I know I am (ready),” Puelles told Daniel Cormier during his post-fight interview. “I don’t know if that’s next, but I know that I’m ready.”

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Puelles looked the part against former Strikeforce champion Guida, who landed a takedown within the first minute of the fight. But Puelles kept attacking the left arm from bottom position with an omoplata attempt, but Guida defended well. So Puelles transitioned to a triangle attempt against the cage and then an armbar, but Guida — being the tough veteran that he is — found a way out. Guida showed poise while his left arm remained trapped between Puelles’ legs, but he eventually found his way out and tried to advance his top position.

That proved to be costly as Puelles locked in a lightning quick kneebar that got a quick tapout from Guida.

Guida, 40, fought out his UFC contract with the loss to Puelles, leaving the future of the UFC Hall of Famer unclear.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 205 results include:

Clay Guida reveals UFC Fight Night 205 final bout on contract, wants to prove he’s ‘here to stay’

Clay Guida may be about to fight out his UFC contract, but has no intentions of slowing down.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Clay Guida[/autotag] is about to fight out his UFC contract, but has no intentions of slowing down.

Guida (37-21-1 MMA, 17-15 UFC) meets Claudio Puelles (11-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 205 co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, in what he revealed will be his final bout of a four-fight deal. The card streams on ESPN+.

The 40-year-old, who’s coming off a Performance of the Night submission of Leonardo Santos in December, is planning to put on a showcase that proven why he still has a future with the UFC.

“There’s no pressure on me, but I want to prove to Dana White, to Sean Shelby, to the rest of the UFC world, the fans, that I’m here to stay, that I’m getting better at 40, and like coach Danny and I always say, the best is yet to come,” Guida told MMA Junkie at the UFC Fight Night 205 media day on Wednesday. “We’re gonna get another contract in here, we’re gonna go out there and look for a finish like we always do.”

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Heading into his 60th professional MMA fight, Guida is leaning on his experience and wrestling against Puelles.

“High pace, go out there wrestle, show what 30-plus years of wrestling is all about,” Guida said. “I love to compete, it’s the wrestling in me, that’s the athlete in me, and I just love to challenge myself. Coaches know every time we get a new opponent, I’m probably either gonna be the underdog or they probably have higher skillset than me, but the coaches, we find a way to win. They set the game plan and I get to execute it, so it’s more of a challenge to myself and being thankful that I get to go out there and put on a show and compete.”

Check out the full media day interview with Guida in the video above.

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UFC on ESPN 31 video: Clay Guida pulls off epic comeback, becomes first to submit Leonardo Santos

Clay Guida pulled off one of the biggest comebacks of 2021 against Leonardo Santos on Saturday at UFC on ESPn 31.

[autotag]Clay Guida[/autotag] pulled off one of the biggest comebacks of 2021 against [autotag]Leonardo Santos[/autotag] on Saturday at UFC on ESPN 31.

After nearly getting finished with strikes in the first round, Guida (37-21 MMA, 17-15 UFC) rallied in a major way and became the first man to submit Santos (18-5-1 MMA, 7-2-1 UFC) in MMA competition in the lightweight matchup, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Check out the finish below (via Twitter):

Guida had a brutal first two-plus minutes in the opening round, as Santos crushed him with a hard left body kick that had him reeling. Santos emptied the gas tank with punches to the body and a knees to the head – one of which dropped Guida – and had the fight on the cusp of a stoppage on multiple occasions.

Somehow, Guida survived and regained his composure. He took Santos down with one minute remaining in the round and started hammering with rabbit punches until the end of the round.

Guida came up with all the energy and momentum to start Round 2. He took Santos’ back, locked in a rear-naked choke and finished the fight at the 1:21 mark.

“He had me hurt real, real bad,” Guida said in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. “We needed that one. Wrestling got us here. That’s the one that got us the victory.”

Up-to-date UFC on ESPN 31 results include:

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UFC on ESPN 31 predictions: Can ex-champ Jose Aldo upset Rob Font?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC on ESPN 31 main card, featuring Rob Font vs. Jose Aldo.

Font
vs.
Aldo		 Fiziev
vs.
Riddell		 Crute
vs.
Hill		 Guida
vs.
Santos		 Allen
vs.
Curtis		 Gall
vs.
Morono
MMA Junkie readers’
consensus picks
2021: 200-109		 aldo2021
Aldo
(51%)		 riddell2021
Riddell
(52%)		 crute2021
Crute
(69%)		 santos2021
Santos
(67%)		 allen2021
Allen
(76%)		 morono2021
Morono
(75%)
John Morgan
@MMAjunkieJohn
2021: 203-106		 font2021
Font		 fiziev2021
Fiziev		 crute2021
Crute		 santos2021
Santos		 allen2021
Allen		 morono2021
Morono
Simon Samano
@SJSamano
2021: 197-112		 aldo2021
Aldo		 fiziev2021
Fiziev		 crute2021
Crute		 guida2021
Guida		 allen2021
Allen		 morono2021
Morono
Mike Bohn
@MikeBohnMMA
2021: 193-116
trophy copy 2014 Champion		 font2021
Font		 riddell2021
Riddell		 hill2021
Hill		 santos2021
Santos		 allen2021
Allen		 morono2021
Morono
Matt Erickson
@MMAjunkieMatt
2021: 192-117		 aldo2021
Aldo		 riddell2021
Riddell		 hill2021
Hill		 santos2021
Santos		 curtis2021
Curtis		 gall2021
Gall
Nolan King
@mma_kings
2021: 191-118		 font2021
Font		 fiziev2021
Fiziev		 crute2021
Crute		 santos2021
Santos		 allen2021
Allen		 morono2021
Morono
Dan Tom
@DanTomMMA
2021: 190-119
trophy copy 2020 Champion		 aldo2021
Aldo		 riddell2021
Riddell		 crute2021
Crute		 santos2021
Santos		 allen2021
Allen		 morono2021
Morono
Danny Segura
@dannyseguratv
2021: 186-123		 aldo2021
Aldo		 fiziev2021
Fiziev		 crute2021
Crute		 santos2021
Santos		 allen2021
Allen		 morono2021
Morono
Ken Hathaway
@kenshathaway
2021: 184-125
trophy copy 2018 Champion		 aldo2021
Aldo		 fiziev2021
Fiziev		 crute2021
Crute		 santos2021
Santos		 allen2021
Allen		 gall2021
Gall
Farah Hannoun
@Farah_Hannoun
2021: 180-129		 font2021
Font		 fiziev2021
Fiziev		 hill2021
Hill		 santos2021
Santos		 allen2021
Allen		 gall2021
Gall
Brian Garcia
@thegoze
2021: 179-130
trophy copy 2017 Champion		 font2021
Font		 fiziev2021
Fiziev		 hill2021
Hill		 santos2021
Santos		 allen2021
Allen		 morono2021
Morono
George Garcia
@MMAjunkieGeorge
2021: 179-130		 font2021
Font		 riddell2021
Riddell		 hill2021
Hill		 guida2021
Guida		 curtis2021
Curtis		 gall2021
Gall
Abbey Subhan
@kammakaze
2021: 178-131		 aldo2021
Aldo		 fiziev2021
Fiziev		 crute2021
Crute		 santos2021
Santos		 allen2021
Allen		 morono2021
Morono
Matthew Wells
@MrMWells
2021: 120-73		 aldo2021
Aldo		 riddell2021
Riddell		 hill2021
Hill		 santos2021
Santos		 allen2021
Allen		 morono2021
Morono

The UFC starts to wind down 2021 this week in Las Vegas with a former champion at the top of the bill.

UFC on ESPN 31 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, [autotag]Rob Font[/autotag] (19-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) takes on former featherweight champ [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] (30-7 MMA, 12-6 UFC) at bantamweight. Font is a -150 favorite at Tipico; the comeback on Aldo is +120. But our 13 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers are siding with the slight underdog, Aldo, by the narrowest possible margin at 7-6.

In the co-feature, [autotag]Rafael Fiziev[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) takes on [autotag]Brad Riddell[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) at lightweight. Fiziev is a slight -130 favorite, and he’s got an 8-5 edge from our pickers.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Jimmy Crute[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) meets [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) at light heavyweight. Crute is a -180 favorite, but he has just a 7-6 lead in the picks.

Longtime fighter [autotag]Clay Guida[/autotag] (36-21 MMA, 16-15 UFC) takes on [autotag]Leonardo Santos[/autotag] (18-4-1 MMA, 7-1-1 UFC) at lightweight. Santos is a -180 favorite and has a big 11-2 picks lead.

[autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 5-1 UFC) fights [autotag]Chris Curtis[/autotag] (27-8 MMA, 1-0 UFC) at middleweight in what is a quick turnaround for Curtis. Allen is the biggest favorite on the entire card at -350, and he’s got an 11-2 lead in the picks.

And to open the main card, [autotag]Mickey Gall[/autotag] (7-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) takes on [autotag]Alex Morono[/autotag] (20-7 MMA, 9-4 UFC) at welterweight. Morono is a -180 favorite, and he’s got a big 9-4 lead from our staff pickers.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Aldo (51 percent), Riddell (52 percent), Crute (69 percent), Santos (67 percent), Allen (76 percent) and Morono (75 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

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UFC on ESPN 31 pre-event facts: Rob Font, Jose Aldo battle for more accolades

The best facts and figures about UFC on ESPN 31, which features a Rob Font vs. Jose Aldo main event.

The UFC kicks off its final stretch of 2021 events Saturday with UFC on ESPN 31, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and airs on ESPN.

A very important fight in the bantamweight division serves as the main event of the card. [autotag]Rob Font[/autotag] (19-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) will attempt to keep his winning streak alive in pursuit of a title shot when he takes on former longtime featherweight king [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] (30-7 MMA, 12-6 UFC), who continues chase a second belt at 135 pounds.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for 45 pre-event facts about UFC on ESPN 31.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Oct. 18-24)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from Oct. 18-24.