Clay Guida has fought the ‘who’s who’ in the UFC featherweight and lightweight divisions, and he isn’t planning on slowing down.
Guida will make what could be his final walk to the UFC Octagon tonight at UFC Vegas 52 for his fight against Claudio Puelles. His bout with Puelles is the final fight on the 40-year-old’s UFC deal.
The UFC hasn’t openly discussed whether or not they plan to re-sign Guida to a new contract regardless of the result this weekend. Thus, Guida enters a potential ‘make or break’ scenario if he wants to continue competing on MMA’s biggest stage.
Nevertheless, during his UFC Vegas 52 pre-fight press conference, Guida denied that there was any extra pressure entering this particular fight.
“There’s no pressure on me,” Guida said. “But I want to prove to Dana White, to Sean Shelby, to the rest of the UFC world, the fans, that I’m here to stay, that I’m getting better at 40.
“Like coach Danny and I always say, ‘the best is yet to come’. We’re gonna get another contract in here, we’re gonna go out there and look for a finish like we always do.” (h/t Middle Easy)
Guida rebounded from a tough split-decision loss to Mark O. Madsen with a second-round submission over Leonardo Santos last December. He has fought some of the top talents in the lightweight division, including Bobby Green and lightweight champion Charles Oliveira.
Guida made his UFC debut against Justin James at UFC 64 back in 2006. He would go on to take fights at both 145 and 155lbs, earning wins over the likes of Nate Diaz and Rafael dos Anjos.
Guida feels he’s getting better with age, and he’ll have the opportunity to hit ‘father time’ in the face tonight at UFC Vegas 52.
What is your favorite fight from Clay Guida’s UFC career so far?