#2
Gray Maynard
“The Bully”
Summary: Wrestling, Conditioning, Striking
Fighter Info
Nickname: | The Bully |
From: | Phoenix, Arizona USA |
Age: | 31 |
Height: | 5' 8" ( 172 cm ) |
Weight: | 155 lb ( 70 kg ) |
College: | Michigan State University |
Maynard was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 5, which featured lightweights exclusively. He was selected by B.J. Penn to be on his team and was Penn's pick to make it to the finals.
Maynard beat Wayne Weems in the preliminary round. In the quarterfinals, Maynard faced Brandon Melendez in a tough matchup and won the fight with a guillotine choke in the second round. He lost his semifinal matchup in the second round against Nate Diaz due to guillotine choke.
At the The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale, Maynard fought Rob Emerson in a controversial fight. Maynard seemed to be in control of the fight in round one. During the second round he picked up Emerson and slammed him to the mat. Emerson immediately tapped out because of an injury to his ribs. The referee claimed that Maynard also could not continue because he seemed to have hit his head on the mat and knocked himself out due to the force of his own slam, thus because both fighters could not continue he ruled it a "No Contest". UFC President Dana White commented, "I know one thing, that Maynard was out cold". Maynard did not agree, and cites the cage-side doctors, who found he had suffered no concussion during the bout, thus they say he could not have lost consciousness in the fight.
In his next fight he took on Joe Veres at UFC Fight Night 11 and knocked him out with the first punch he threw, after nine seconds. It was the second fastest knockout in UFC history (at that time, see UFC 102). Next Maynard won a unanimous decision victory over Dennis Siver at UFC Fight Night 12 earning scores of 29–28, 29–28 and 30–27. At UFC Fight Night 13, he faced lightweight standout Frank Edgar and won a 30–27 unanimous decision on all cards to hand Edgar his first and only loss to date. He used his superior wrestling to control the fight, winning a decision.
Maynard also worked as an assistant wrestling coach for Forrest Griffin as part of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest.
Maynard earned a unanimous decision over Rich Clementi in UFC 90. In his fight, Maynard once again showed his superior wrestling as he controlled Clementi on the ground for 3 rounds. He did however appear notably disappointed during his post fight interview that he was unable to finish the fight.
Maynard then fought at UFC 96, against lightweight Jim Miller, winning by unanimous decision once again, with all three judges scoring the bout 30–27. Maynard kept the fight on the feet inversing his wrestling skills with excellent takedown defense and displayed solid standup skills, particularly looping bodyshot combos.
Maynard won against Roger Huerta via split decision at UFC Fight Night 19. During the fight, he had Huerta in a visibly deep kimura, though his opponent refused to submit.
Maynard defeated TUF 5 lightweight champion Nate Diaz via split decision at UFC Fight Night 20.[14]
Maynard defeated Kenny Florian on August 28, 2010 at UFC 118 via unanimous(30-27, 30-27, 29-28), Maynard took him down at will and controlled Florian on the mat, thus becoming the number one contender for the UFC Lightweight Championship.
In a Fight Of The Night-winning contest, Maynard and incumbent champion Frankie Edgar fought to a split draw on January 1, 2011 at UFC 125, resulting in Edgar retaining his belt. Early reports were that that former WEC champion Anthony Pettis would receive the next title shot, but Dana White later announced that instead Edgar vs Maynard 3 would be the next lightweight title fight at UFC 130.[15][16] On May 9, it was announced that injuries to both forced the fight to be removed from the card. The third bout is now expected for September 2011.
