Behind Blue Eyes: Gray Maynard's Lead-up to UFC 136
Posted on October 17, 2011, 03:10 PM by Joey SantosusDuring the lead-up to what was the biggest fight of his professional fighting career, top Lightweight contender Gray Maynard granted MMAWeekly an inside look at the final days prior to his rematch with division Champion Frankie Edgar at UFC 136.
After coming oh-so-close to finishing the champ within the opening frame, Maynard went on to suffer the first defeat of his career, losing via TKO in the fourth-round. Though he did not leave Houston with the title on that night, "The Bully" has since vowed to climb the latter once again for another shot at claiming the gold. Photo: Francis Specker
Further Reading: Gray Maynard punches as hard as a Heavyweight
Comments
man this kid could be great if he just stops head hunting, even though its hard when you got a guy hurt.. he should have learned from the first fight but instead he did the exact same thing and this time got KTFO
Did you even watch the 3rd fight? he was far too cautious and let Edgar settle in and gave him far too much time.
So he obviously recovered by that time and caught Maynard in the 4th... I bet there will be 5 total fights of Edgar/Maynard.
yeah and if he had not go for the kill while Edgar was hurt people would be saying that he didn't head hunt and thats why he lost.
he lost because Frankie Edgar is a better fighter period.
there is nothing Gray Maynard can do to change that, he is a big 155 fighter with heavy hands and really good wrestling but that's it.
he doesn't have what it takes to become champion.
it takes more than just hardwork and determination, it also takes potential and skills , something Maynard lacks.
That's why there's many fighters , but only a few become Champions.
hope his first loss makes him a more humble fighter... and person
he needs to move up a weight class or two, his cardio looks horrible from cutting all that weight
I was a bit disapointed by his perfomance at his tittle fight. For the second time he was so close to get the belt, but he made the same mistakes as at the first fight. But to be honest the uppercut that he landed was briliant. Also, I think Grey should try himlelf at welterweight, good boxing with strong wrestling is gonna lead him to the title IMHO.
Some excellent comments (above).
Frankie is a very mobile fighter, with much better footwork and a better engine than Gray, Grays opportunity lay in being much more powerful physically, I don't think it was an accident that once again he tried to do the business in Round One and loaded up with big shots... Frankies mobility speed and movement were just too much.
The size difference and the different attributes of each fighter made this match a classic which I'll still probably enjoy 20 years from now.