After Latest Triumph, Clay Guida Plans to Be ‘Making Waves in the UFC for a Long Time’
In the end, Clay Guida won at UFC Fight Night 184 in the best way he knew how.
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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.”
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