In the end, Clay Guida won
at
UFC Fight Night 184 in the best way he knew how.
“The Carpenter” snapped a two-fight losing streak with a gritty
unanimous verdict against fellow veteran Michael
Johnson in a featured lightweight contest at the UFC Apex in
Las Vegas on Saturday night. Guida mixed overhand rights with
relentless wrestling to wear down his opponent over the course of
15 minutes.
It wasn’t pretty, but with Guida, it rarely ever is when things go
his way.
“I knew he was going to be reliant on that laser beam cross he has.
He cracked me with it a few times. I knew once I could get
past a few, I had him,” Guida said. “As long as I could pressure
him to the fence and take his best shots, I knew I was going to be
in the driver’s seat. I stayed in his face the whole time. I made
it dirty and ugly, just like a Clay Guida
fight. There’s nothing pretty about it, but it gets the job
done.”
While Johnson is known for having the quicker hands, Guida was
nonetheless able to land his right repeatedly over the course of
the bout. The former Strikeforce champion was competitive in
exchanges, and he also grounded Johnson once in each frame. He
ended the fight attached to Johnson’s back to seal the victory.
“I’m never satisfied. Win or lose, I know the things I can do
better in the Octagon,” Guida said. “There’s always room for
improvement. One thing, my wrestling needs to keep getting better.
I’ve got to be able to finish those takedowns quicker. My hands
felt good. I need more head movement, but we were swinging.
Michael
Johnson hits hard. We were cracking each other. I definitely
took some good things out of it, but there’s still a lot of room
for improvement.”
At 39 years old, Guida hasn’t put together a winning streak longer
than two since 2011. But he’s also never lost more than two
straight fights, and he still remains competitive in what could be
the twilight of his career. For now, it doesn’t sound as though
retirement is on the horizon.
“I’m still a force to be reckoned with,” Guida said. “I tell people
to be careful saying you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, because
you might get bit. Michael
Johnson’s fought the who’s who and I’ve fought the who’s who.
Rankings—who cares about those. I’m here to compete. I’m still
going to be making waves in the UFC for a long time.”