It's a move that has been discussed amongst MMA fans for quite some time, but "The Carpenter" is finally making the decision to drop from 155 lbs to 145 lbs following a two-fight losing streak at the peak of his lightweight contender status. The decision was announced earlier this morning by Guida (via Clay Guida's MMA Agency):

Clay "The Carpenter" Guida announced this morning that he will begin fighting at the 145 pound Featherweight division in the UFC. The VFD Sports star has been a long-time fan favorite and top contender in the Lightweight division and he feels that now is the perfect time to take on a new challenge.

"The Carpenter is going to explore a new job site at the 145 pound division in the new year," Guida said. "I plan on making a run at the foreman or superintendent position right out of the gates. I hope you guys packed a lunch."

Unfortunately for Guida, after an epic Fight of the Year candidate war with Ben Henderson at UFC on FOX 1, he was puzzlingly passive in an atrocious split-decision loss to Gray Maynard this past June. It upset Dana White to no end, had the crowd chanting "Maynard" after the early chants of "Guida", and it became the 7 millionth time Greg Jackson killed MMA.

All that said, the move to featherweight should be a great one. He already has great speed, powerful takedowns, and a limitless supply of cardio to compete with other 145ers. The main criticism of Guida has been his lack of offense, particularly his stand-up, and he'll have to improve on that if he wants to beat the likes of Jose Aldo or Frankie Edgar. Guida plans to fight again in 2013, where the likes of Erik Koch, Chan Sung Jung, Dustin Poirier, Chad Mendes, and others await.