Clay Guida: "I'm Here For the Belt"
by Steven T. Kelliher on Oct 15, 2009 2:32 PM EDT
Email
PrintWhile UFC lightweight and fan favorite Clay "The Carpenter" Guida has long been one of the most exciting fighters in the division, he has fallen short in some of his biggest matches, most recently losing a razor-thin split decision to top
contender Diego Sanchez last June.
Tapology’s Steven Kelliher recently caught up with Guida, who took some time out of his training schedule to discuss his losing effort against Sanchez and why he thinks the fight should have gone his way, his upcoming UFC 107 fight with Kenny Florian, and why he feels that he is the man to take down UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn once and for all.
On Diego Sanchez:
Guida: I give Diego credit in the fight. Do I think he won three minutes of the fight? Yes, but I think I controlled and dominated the last 11 to 12 minutes. To me, a fight is not won inside of three minutes.
On fighting BJ Penn:
Tapology: How would you see yourself matching up with BJ Penn?
Guida: I think I pose a bigger problem than anybody in the UFC for BJ. We saw Kenny press him, but Kenny had the wrong game plan. GSP had a perfect game plan—take him down in the middle of the cage. When BJ is up against the fence, he might as well be on his back because that’s how natural and relaxed he is. He can stand there on one leg. The guy is part ballerina. To neutralize that, you have to take him down in the middle of the cage to take his feet right out from underneath him.
On Kenny Florian:
Tapology: You are going to be fighting Kenny Florian at UFC 107 in December. What problems do you think he poses for you?
Guida: I think this fight is really going to determine what we’re made of as fighters. We’ve both been in the big show, and we’ve both fallen just short of the eight ball. I think this fight is kind of going to determine how our careers are going to pan out. I think this fight is going to elevate my career to a whole new level of dominance.
Kenny is not going to be an easy task. He has a lot of tools, but I think he struggles with wrestlers and guys with good top control. I think this fight is picture-perfect for me—it’s tailor-made for my style. You’ve seen what I do against strikers; I put them on their backs and make them miserable.
On the lightweight title:
Tapology: When you have retired, is it really important to you to have held that lightweight title at least once?
Guida: Most definitely. I’m not here to say that I fought in the UFC, even if it’s for ten years. I’m here to say that I fought for a reason. I have fun, but I’m here to get that lightweight belt.
The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.
52 comments
|
4 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
I like Guida
but I can’t see him holding the title, sadly. Unless he adds some more weapons to his arsenal – mid-tier 4 life.
However, if he does add those weapons, his crazy pace and adamantium chin would make him an absolute monster in the ring.
"Why am I here? Why does my mind have wings? Why do blue midgets hit me with fish?!" - The Tick
by mythbuster on Oct 15, 2009 2:56 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
rec’d for adamantium….he is fighting with Jackson now isn’t he? Maybe he is seeking those extra weapons and added game plan. I’ve always liked him and want him to do well but to me he is just a gatekeeper.
"Hey, sewer rat may taste like pumpkin pie, but I'd never know 'cause I wouldn't eat the filthy motherf**ker" - Jules Winnfield
by WeaponElDeem on Oct 18, 2009 10:40 AM EDT up reply actions
I think Clay makes a good case for himself against Kenny. I think the odds will very much be in Kenny’s favor, making Clay a good bet.
Huh?
Tapology: I was talking to Keith Florian recently and he said that in his opinion, your greatest strength is the takedowns. Do you feel confident that you could take BJ down?
Guida: Definitely. BJ’s striking skills are above and beyond, but I feel that I’ve shown I can strike with anyone too. I can stand and take punches and kicks, but I can also deliver too.
Was Guida listening to the interviewer? Maybe the interviewer transcribed it wrong?
by MMAInFeRioRiTy on Oct 15, 2009 2:59 PM EDT reply actions
Well, I guess all he had to say about his takedowns was “Definitely.”
by MMAInFeRioRiTy on Oct 15, 2009 3:04 PM EDT up reply actions
That does look a little odd in retrospect, but I promise you it is the full transcript in its entirety. I should have put Definitely as its own line, because what Guida says after that is just more talk of how he thinks he would beat BJ.
by Steven T. Kelliher on Oct 15, 2009 3:23 PM EDT up reply actions
Guida
Really needs to work on his striking and THEN and only then would he be on the top tier of 155. He has good Wrestling skills but that and heart/cardio is all he has atm. With striking he would be pretty scary.
Either way thought I don’t see him beating BJ.
His fights vs Diaz and Danzig were BRUTAL!
He had an exciting fight vs Diego, but Clay will hug n pray anybody who lets him. I don’t know anybody else, but I don’t care to see it.
yeah those fights blowed
We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.
by Anthony Pace on Oct 15, 2009 4:29 PM EDT up reply actions
kenflo v guida
cant wait to see guida eat some more elbows hehe…
"I had to fight all my life to survive. They were all against me... but I beat the bastards and left them in the ditch." ~ Ty Cobb
While I like Guida as a person and as a fighter, I don’t think he has what it takes to beat the more technical guys, like Florian. The one main asset he has over most light weights is his cardio, which won’t really be that much of an advantage against Kenny.
Kenny is going to look to finish this fight quickly, and attempt to make another run at the title. He submits Guida in the first round.
I’m getting kinda sick of people complaining about “lay and pray.”
If you can take a guy down, and he can’t get out from underneath you, what’s wrong with that? You’re controlling your opponent, looking for submissions, wearing them down with g&p. It’s all part of the game, imho.
"Negative, negative. I gotta stay lean and lightning and ready to fight." Capt. H.M. Murdock
It truly sucks to watch, but I don’t even think you can classify what Guida does as lay n pray. He literally just bear hugs his opponent and doesn’t let go.
The scary thing here is that Guida seems to have no problem using that strategy. At least Kos always talked about how he was working to be more well rounded, and how he was disappointed in his fights where he had to rely solely on his wrestling.
Guida either doesn’t realize or doesn’t care that his fights vs Diaz and Danzig were boring as hell.
Guida either doesn’t realize or doesn’t care that his fights vs Diaz and Danzig were boring as hell.
Who won those fights?
"Why am I here? Why does my mind have wings? Why do blue midgets hit me with fish?!" - The Tick
Silly me
Thought we were talking about a sport for a moment.
"Why am I here? Why does my mind have wings? Why do blue midgets hit me with fish?!" - The Tick
Obviously MMA is different than other sports. While you can appreciate the tough nose defense of the San Antonio Spurs, there’s nothing entertaining about watching a guy bear hug another guy for 15 minutes.
What’s crazy to me though is how you seem to find this shocking. Seriously man, think about the fallout we’ve seen from boring fights like Silva vs Leites or Arlovski vs Sylvia 3. That didn’t clue you in at all lol?
In this sport, whether you like it or not, winning isn’t the only thing that matters. Is that a good thing? That’s debatable, but it’s reality.
Thanks for setting me straight.
By the way, you never answered me – who won those fights you mentioned above?
"Why am I here? Why does my mind have wings? Why do blue midgets hit me with fish?!" - The Tick
How's his body?
Does he have a nice enough body to be champion some day?
"Why am I here? Why does my mind have wings? Why do blue midgets hit me with fish?!" - The Tick
People who think the Spurs are boring infuriate me. If you can’t appreciate Tim Duncan’s post moves or how completely un-guardable Tony Parker and Manu can be, phere may not be hope for you.
Disclaimer: I love the Spurs =P
"That feeling after you win and they raise your hand... it's like you have this energy that releases from your body, and it's like you mingle with the cosmos, and you feel omnipotent"
Yeah, my second favorite team
It’ll be interesting to see how Jefferson works out.
It’s like, what are you trying to do here? Avoid damage and rack up points based on the agreed-upon ruleset? LAAAAME
Ooooh, sarcasm....let me try!
Yep, everybody should definitely try to win by the most boring way possible because there is less risk. I’m sure once that happens, tickets will sell like hotcakes! I mean, it’s especially going to be helpful in getting the sport into the mainstream, because the casual fans and skeptics LOVE when fights are filled with 15 mintues of nothing.
I mean remember when Silva and Leites put on that boring fight, everybody really respected their right to do that. I mean when Silva went 5 rounds and took no damage, soooo many people found that really impressive.
As for the fighters themselves, again it’s just a fantastic idea to win all those point based decisions. Not only do they get paid a ton of money (because it’s so entertaining!), but it truly is the fast track to a title shot. It’s just an idea that’s full of win.
Thanks for enlightening me man, you truly have a full grasp of the subject.
by Razzel on Oct 16, 2009 2:15 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
Your crazy man, when i buy a UFC ppv or go to a live event i want to see every match go to 3-5 rounds because the fighters want to avoid damage and not take any risks.
I only want to watch the top notch fighters fight like Guida, Leites, T.Griffin, Arona and Okami! I mean wouldn’t they be great champions?
AA vs Sylvia III, Silva vs Leites and Quarry vs Starnes. Now those are the kind of fights that will get MMA some more fans!
"Did you feel you did well against Lindland?" "
Hell no.. I wanted to break the law"
---Rampage
by TearsofaClown on Oct 16, 2009 6:46 AM EDT up reply actions
My problem is with people claiming Clay Guida is an inherently exciting fighter (he’s exciting only as a foil for other, more interesting opponents), and with Clay himself claiming that that particular strategy should have won him this fight.
Otherwise yeah, do your thing Clay. If it works, it works.
People can bitch all they want about Clay but everything he said in that interview was the truth. I still don’t know what the hell the judges were on when they gave Diego that bs decision. Clay should beat Kenny and get back in title contention, but it should be a hell of a fight and I can’t wait to see it.
Lay and Pray gets thrown around too much.....
GSP has been labeled as a lay and pray fighter, and he’s very active on the ground and deals quite a bit of damage. Sometimes a fighter on top is effectively neutralized by the bottom persons guard and can’t get much done…..that’s not lay and pray either.
Lay and Pray to me is when you get a fighter on top doing nothing at all. The persons guard is not presenting any problems for the top fighter, he’s just not pulling the trigger when we as fans even see openings to do so.
I agree
If lay and pray is catagorized by GSP and Clay, then everyone has it all wrong. Those are 2 of the most entertaining fighters in the organization. Lay and Pray is a negative fighting style, where the guy takes his opponent down and just sits on him, doing absolutely nothing to advance his position, literally laying on his opponent and praying that he makes it out of the cage with a victory. No, Clay and GSP’s style is more of a takedown and dominate rather than a lay and pray.
I hope I never see a day that Clay is UFC LW champ, Because that will mean that the division has sunken pretty low in mediocrity. Or that BJ has decided to fight elsewhere. There is no scenerio in which I could see Clay beating a top 5 LW let alone BJ.
Or that he has no idea what he’s talking about the idea that Clay is mediocre in any way or can’t beat top guys considering his last performance just shows blatant ignorance on his part.
Right. His last performance where he was essentially out on his feet the entire 2nd round? That fight? Coome on. The guy definitely brings it every fight and is a game opponent for anyone but he doesn’t have the necessary all around skills of a guy like BJ Penn and other younger fighters that are making their way up in the ranks. He is and will always be a gate keeper for the LW division. Nothing wrong with that.
Clay was never out he took a monster kick and then a minute later was on top gnp Diego. Clay’s chin, cardio and takedowns are the exacts skills needed to beat BJ and over 5 rounds i’d put my money on him period.
Guida has been in the ring with a who’s who of fighters already many who were favored and he’s beaten most of them regardlss of inept judges.
if by gnp u mean laying in guard and eating yes bows
by mr. gogoplata on Oct 19, 2009 12:33 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
rec'd for yes-bows
'He built his whole reputation as a waffle house chef. They’ve been serving him up ham and eggs with a side of canned tomatoes' - Don Frye on Fedor Emelianenko
by Well Read Idiot on Oct 21, 2009 11:28 AM EDT up reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
MMA Rankings
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
