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Saturday, December 8, 2012
Common opponent Clay Guida predicts UFC on FOX 5's Henderson-Diaz winner
UFC on FOX 5's lightweight title showdown at Seattle's KeyArena between champion Benson Henderson (17-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) and challenger Nate Diaz (16-7 MMA, 10-5 UFC) is a clash of familiar faces for Clay Guida.
"The Carpenter" handed Diaz his first UFC loss at UFC 94 in January 2009 via split decision. And a little more than a year ago, the Chicagoan came up short against Henderson at UFC on FOX 1 after dropping a unanimous decision and opening the door for Henderson to capture the UFC crown in his next outing.
Assessing the virtues of Henderson and Diaz, Guida sees their championship battle traveling the 25-minute distance.
"I think it is going to a decision," Guida told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) of tonight's headliner. "Hopefully we'll get to see a marathon of cardio and some guys that are ready to throw down for 25 minutes and really deliver on athleticism, technique, tenacity and just a great skillset in both fighters."
Each combatant is prime for long-haul contests. Henderson, 29, has heard the final bell in all five of his UFC contests, including two five-round bouts versus Frankie Edgar. Prior to going 25 minutes in UFC title fights, Henderson went just as long on two occasions in the WEC against Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone and Anthony Pettis, who now meet in a No. 1 contender's bout next month.
The championship experience is an advantage that can't be discounted. However, Guida said it's been a long time coming for Diaz, a 27-year-old fighter known well for his triathlon-bolstered conditioning. The Stockton, Calif. native will be ready to bridge that championship-round inexperience gap despite never going 25 minutes in 23 career contests.
Guida the first lightweight title fight in UFC on FOX history "one of the best cards that we've seen in a long time," a top-notch "treat."
As one of MMA's foremost cardio fanatics, Guida understands its role ahead of Henderson vs. Diaz. The way to reduce Henderson's tireless performance is damage – something Diaz is as great at dishing out as the champion is at avoiding. Diaz's lanky, 6-foot-tall frame doesn't posses the same physical gifts that the stronger, more athletic Henderson brings. However, Guida said Diaz makes the most of his tools.
"His punches have a sting on them because he throws them in big groups," the 30-year-old said. "He uses his body as much to his advantage as he can, and that's what makes him so dangerous. He's very rangy. Once he starts finding his comfort zone on the outside, he starts landing his long jabs and hooks, and starts coming right down the middle. That's when he can start opening up his leg kicks – inside (and) outside leg kicks.
"He can start doing his clinch work then all of the sudden you see his hop tosses and inside step throws coming through. That's when he starts building confidence. His safety zone is being outside and landing four to five, six punches at a time."
The momentum Diaz has while angling for a four-fight win streak and a UFC title requires an imposing skillset to snuff out.
"I think Ben is strong enough and athletic enough to be able to get past the punches, get past the strikes, put Diaz on his back and maybe stay in side control, half-guard, defend against the submissions," Guida said. "We've seen Nate struggle in the past with wrestling-based fighters. We've seen him fight off his back against wrestlers, and if he doesn't catch you with that initial triangle or guillotine, he has a hard time."
Guida believes Diaz's "Submission of the Night" win over Jim Miller in May caught the gritty New Jersey native out of his element.
"It wasn't the Jim Miller we've seen in the past – tactical and fighting with purpose," the Greg Jackson MMA representative said. "He was out there, banged up a little bit, bloody. He was diving in, and that's when the choke came in. I think Ben is going to be more poised, find his kicks outside to close that distance, put him against the fence, work those single legs. If he wants to be successful, anyway.
"If he starts to get tagged on the outside and lets Nate build up momentum, then it might be a different story. I see Ben being able to overpower him and get in ground-and-pound positions."
Diaz, a Cesar Gracie jiu-jitsu black belt, has 11 career submission wins, including five "Submission of the Night" award bonuses, in 16 octagon outings. One has to go back five years to find the lone submission defeat on Henderson's record – which actually was just four months into his pro career. Guida said Henderson is one of the most dangerous ground-and-pound fighters in the business. Despite Diaz's decorated ground game, submitting the champion isn't something Guida foresees.
"Ben is one of the hardest guys to submit," Guida said. "I had that dude sown up, I thought, with a couple different guillotines and chokes. He is super, super rubbery, and the guy knows how to defend submissions. He's flexible. It's like trying to choke out an alligator. He just starts rolling and spinning uncontrollably until he's out."
It comes down to the championship experience and wrestling for Guida.
"I'm going with the champ," the nine-year veteran said. "I think he's going to leave with the belt and a five-round decision, but it's going to be a great fight."
Jeremy Stephens Fighting for His Innocence and Fighting for His Family at UFC on Fox 5
The last two months for UFC lightweight Jeremy Stephens have been anything but easy.
Just hours away from his UFC on FX 5 fight against Yves Edwards, as he was resting in his hotel room, a knock at the door ended up being Minneapolis police officers there to arrest Stephens on an outstanding warrant from the state of Iowa.
The pending case landed Stephens in jail, and despite the best efforts of UFC president Dana White to secure his release, it was all for naught and the fight had to be cancelled.
Legally, Stephens is still fighting to prove his innocence in the case, and thus he can’t speak about any particulars surrounding the charges. Emotionally, however, the entire experience was draining because he went to Minnesota to work, fight and earn a paycheck, and instead he ended up spending several days in jail and went home without earning a dime.
“It’s not just something that they took away from me, they took away from my family. I don’t make millions of dollars, but I am able to provide for my family. I’m not an idiot with my money, but I definitely had to tighten up, and I didn’t know when I was going to fight again and it was mentally draining,” Stephens told MMAWeekly Radio about the experience.
“It just sucked that something was taken away from me and the way that it was handled was just bizarre, and I think they way they went about things was just cruel. I get a chance to prove my innocence and go forth.”
Stephens maintains his stance of innocence and he’ll have his day in court, but for now he gets to turn his focus back on his job.
In a strange twist of fate, Stephens will face Yves Edwards, the same man who ended up not fighting back in October due to the arrest, after his original opponent John Cholish was forced out of the fight with an injury.
It all kind of felt like fate to Stephens, who never stopped training or preparing for a fight, hoping he would get the call to step in on short notice. He just never imagined it would be against the same person he was supposed to fight back then.
“It just goes to show you can’t keep a good man down, it was destined to be. I worked my butt off for this fight, and for the things that happened that way, I guess it just wasn’t meant to be that day, and getting those legal things cleared up, trying to clear my name and prove my innocence. I just tried to keep good faith and stayed in the gym, because I knew regardless of what was going to happen, I was still going to get a short notice fight. I’m always a team player,” said Stephens.
The road traveled to Seattle to face Edwards, however, was paved with a lot of obstacles. Obviously the arrest and pending case are still looming overhead, which comes attached with a substantial legal fee for attorneys, and the holidays are just around the corner.
Stephens has every intention of not only proving himself in court, but providing for his family on Saturday night. He says it’s just unfortunate that Yves Edwards has to be standing in his way.
“It made me realize that my back’s against the wall. I’m fighting for my family. I’m trying to feed my family and make sure they have a good Christmas this year. Nothing’s going to stop me from doing so,” Stephens stated.
“I’m not just going in there to try to win against Yves Edwards. He’s a good guy. I consider him a good person for the sport, but I don’t need anymore friends. I need a win, and I’m trying to dominate.”
UFC on Fox 5 Henderson vs. Diaz Full Weigh-ins
Check out the full UFC on Fox 5 weigh-in video as all the fighters step on the scale Friday in Seattle.
Benson Henderson is set to put his UFC lightweight title on the line against Nate Diaz, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Alexander Gustafsson are ready to square off to see who is the No. 1 light heavyweight contender, and Rory MacDonald is prepared to welcome B.J. Penn out of retirement and back to the Octagon.
UFC on Fox 5: Full Weigh In Results; Nate Diaz Makes Weight on 3rd Attempt
SEATTLE – The first ever UFC lightweight title fight on Fox is not quite official with Benson Henderson defending his title against top contender Nate Diaz.
Diaz came in at 155.6lbs, which is .6 lbs over the limit for a lightweight title fight. In a typical fight, a fighter is given a 1lb allowance, but in a title fight both champion and challenger must come in at or under the weight class limit, in this case 155lbs.
Henderson made weight without issue, but Diaz will have to cut a little additional weight over the next 2 hours to make his title fight with Henderson official.
Two other fighters on the UFC on Fox 5 undercard also failed to make weight and will be given the same 2 hours to make the additional cut, or risk a penalty for not making weight.
UPDATE: On his third attempt on the scale, Nate Diaz hit the 155lb mark to make his title fight against Benson Henderson official.
UFC ON FOX 5 FULL WEIGH IN RESULTS:
MAIN EVENT:
Benson Henderson (154.6) vs. Nate Diaz (155)*
MAIN TELEVISED CARD FOR FOX:
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (205) vs. Alexander Gustafsson (205.4)
B.J. Penn (168.2) vs. Rory MacDonald (170.2)
Mike Swick (170) vs. Matt Brown (170.2)
PRELIMS ON FX:
Jeremy Stephens (155.8) vs. Yves Edwards (155)
Raphael Assuncao (136) vs. Mike Easton (135)*
Ramsey Nijem (155.4) vs. Joe Proctor (154.6)
Daron Cruickshank (155) vs. Henry Martinez (158.8)*
Marcus LeVesseur (155.4) vs. Abel Trujillo (155.4)
Dennis Siver (146) vs. Nam Phan (145.4)
PRELIMS ON FACEBOOK:
Scott Jorgensen (135.2) vs. John Albert (136)
*2 hours to get down to the required weight
Raphael Assuncao was able to make weight on the second attempt. Henry Martinez was not able to make weight and will forfeit a percentage of his fight purse to his opponent.
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