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Maynard vs. Guida headlines UFC on FX 6/22/12

Submitted by Fred Richani on Mon, 03/19/2012 - 13:13

Major lightweight fight. 

Artwork by Alex Garant - AlexGarant.com

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According to UFC.com, Gray Maynard (10-1-1 MMA, 8-1-1 UFC) will take on Clay Guida (29-12 MMA, 9-6 UFC) in the five-round lightweight main event of UFC on FX on June 22 in Atlantic City, NJ.

Both fighters are coming off of tough, yet hard fought losses. After fighting Frankie Edgar to a draw, Maynard rematched the then-light champion last October, losing via fourth round knockout, despite a dominant first round. Guida's last two bouts were against Anthony Pettis and current UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson. Guida handed Pettis a unanimous decision loss in his UFC debut and went on to lose to Henderson on the inaugural UFC on FOX show via the same result.

A win for either of these fighters puts them right back in contention, especially Guida. A win over Maynard would by far be the biggest and most impressive win to date in Guida's professional MMA career. Guida may have lost decisively to Henderson last November, but it was named "Fight of The Night" and considered one of the three best fights of 2011. Plus, Guida has always been an exciting and popular fighter, who would most certainly move the needle in terms of ratings, buy rates, and ticket sales with the right marketing. 

In the case of Maynard, an impressive win over Guida gives him a name opponent on his record and could lead him to another title shot--as long as Edgar doesn't win the lightweight gold back of course. Maynard recently left his long-time camp of Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas for American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) in San Jose and trained with UFC featherweight champion Jose' Aldo in Brazil.

Update 3/21/12: The venue will be the new Revel Casino. 

Current UFC on FX 4 card:

Lightweight bout: Gray Maynard vs. Clay Guida

Welterweight bout: Brian Ebersole vs. TJ Waldburger

Welterweight bout: Rick Story vs. Rich Attonito

Welterweight bout: Dan Miller vs. Ricardo Funch

Featherweight bout: Jim Hettes vs. Steven Siler

Middleweight bout: Nick Catone vs. Chris Camozzi

Welterweight bout: Matthew Riddle vs. Luis Ramos

Check out our interview w/ UFC lightweight JIM MILLER: