Gray Maynard: Not Far To Go

Maynard could be nearing a title shot if he can get past Nate Diaz at UFC Fight Night 20

Gray Maynard’s MMA career hasn’t had the peaks and valleys of his UFC Fight Night 20 counterpart. His career began at ground zero and has steadily improved since he traveled to Hawaii to help UFC Lightweight Champ BJ Penn with his wrestling skills. On January 11th, we will see if that roller coaster of a career continues to rise, and put him in position to fight his one-time mentor, or if it will start downhill.

Maynard, a former wrestler at Michigan State, had only two professional bouts prior to his appearance on Spike TV’s The Ultimate Fighter 5. He came in as a “raw” wrestling prospect, who with the correct guidance, could turn out to be a force as a lightweight. Selected to his friend and former training partner’s team, Team Penn, Maynard easily defeated Wayne Weems in the opening round of the TUF 5 tourney. He also submitted Brendan Melendez in the quarterfinals before being eliminated by his Fight Night 20 opponent, Nate Diaz. Diaz’ experience and ground game overwhelmed Maynard on his way to the tournament crown.

Maynard displayed enough potential to earn a spot on the TUF 5 Finale card. Matched up against kickboxing specialist Robert Emerson, Maynard dominated the 1st round before slamming Emerson to the mat in the 2nd round and knocking his opponent and himself both out cold. The unique ending caused the referee to rule it a “No Contest” due to both fighters not being able to continue.

The “No Contest” turned out to be a blessing for Maynard. He turned in six consecutive winning performances to bring his unbeaten streak to nine fights after the TUF 5 Finale. At UFC Fight Night 11 in September 2007, Maynard earned the only stoppage victory up to this point in his career after knocking out Joe Veres. Five decision victories in a row followed the knockout, with Maynard earning victories over Dennis Siver, Frankie Edgar, Rich Clementi, and Roger Huerta.

If “The Bully” is able to secure a seventh straight victory inside the octagon, his name has to be on the short list for a shot at UFC Gold. No matter if he earns his second career UFC stoppage or gathers his sixth straight decision victory, a win is a win and putting a bunch together says that you are either the best at that weight, or you need to test yourself against better opponents. Since he fights in the same weight division as BJ Penn, we all know it has to be the latter.

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If, Diaz were able to catch Maynard in a submission and earn the upset, Maynard would drop down a bit in the positioning, but not enough to disappear from contention. Not to say he doesn’t have anything to lose, but he just doesn’t have that much at stake. A rebound win or two over significant opponents would reestablish him right back at the top of a bottom-heavy lightweight division. So, unless the UFC goes out and signs Shinya Aoki, Gilbert Melendez or another Top 10 MMA Lightweight, “The Bully” isn’t going too far no matter what happens in Fairfax, Virginia.

> Also check out our feature on Nate Diaz: Back In Contention exclusively at ProFighting-fans.com!

By Nick Russell
ProFighting-fans.com Senior MMA Staff Writer