I can’t say I’ve ever seen Clay Guida hurt anyone in a fight. His fans will tell you he’s one of the most exciting, intense and active fighters in the game, but six of his nine UFC fights (5-4) have gone to decision. The most exciting are the ones he’s losing. Guida is the best example of a new breed of fighter, content to do nothing more than control the octagon to earn a decision. Unfortunately, this approach has earned wins for him and others.
At The Ultimate Fighter 9 finale Saturday night, Guida lost to Diego Sanchez by split decision, which he should have. What surprised me was that one judge somehow scored the fight a win for him. Sanchez dominated Guida in round one with a flurry of uppercuts and a kick to the face (credit to Guida for an amazing chin as he popped right back up).
Guida (nicknamed “The Human Seat Belt” by a friend of mine) most certainly won the second round according to the judges, and that’s where the problem comes in. He got the takedown he always looks for, and did nothing but keep Diego down for most of the round, with little to no damage done. Sanchez used the opportunity to bust open Guida’s head with vicious elbows, and had a couple submission attempts. To me, that round is scored a win for Diego. A takedown counts for something, but this is a fight after all. This isn’t “ground and pound,” but a strategy some are calling “lay and pray.” As in, lay on top of the guy and pray for a decision. UFC judges seem all too content to reward those rounds to the fighter on top, regardless of what happens in that position.
Guida’s previous fight boiled down to holding Nate Diaz around the waist and pinning him up against the cage. That was enough for the decision win. It didn’t matter that Guida didn’t take advantage of this position to do damage, or that he didn’t advance this position. It didn’t matter that Diaz was still landing more shots and threw Guida to the ground several times from this bear hug. Guida maintained a dominant position for most of the fight, and the decision in his favor said that that’s what matters to the judges.
Octagon control is a necessary judging tool that has to be factored into a decision, but not as the most important aspect of a fight. It’s being weighted much too heavily. This is more of a tiebreaker. The UFC and president Dana White should realize that allowing fighters to win this way will encourage others to follow suit, because the bottom line is winning. He should also realize that this makes for boring fights that will turn off fans. The UFC made its name off delivering the goods and having fights live up to their potential, not with hugging contests. This trend needs to end.
