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UFC: Gray Maynard won’t change ‘boring’ fight style or ‘smart’ game plans
By Zach Arnold | August 29, 2010
ARIEL HELWANI: “How would you assess your performance?”
GRAY MAYNARD: “I think it was smart. A good plan. He’s a hard guy to, you know, he wants to punch a couple, move off, back up a little bit, move forward, punch, and steal ’em. So, the plan was make him come, make him you know chase, and then the takedowns, you know if it’s there, of course.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “So that was sort of how you thought the fight would play out, right?”
GRAY MAYNARD: “Yeah, yeah, yeah. He moves awkward, you know this is for lefties, this is… I had Miller, Clementi, Huerta, Nate, and now him. So they’re all, it’s just a change. You kind of have to play the move off, punch-punch, move-off because they’re trying to punch, you punch, and back out and punch so counterpunch.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “While the fight’s going on, I’m not sure if you hear the boos but I’m wondering if that, you know, comes into your mindset and makes you sort of stray away from the game plan or do you just try to block all that out?”
GRAY MAYNARD: “I don’t even hear it. I can’t, you know, I got a tough guy, I got the top guy, you got to have good game plans. You can’t play his game and I think I’ve beat the top guys. I think I’ve beat Nate, that kid’s tough. Miller, the champ now…”
ARIEL HELWANI: “Huerta.”
GRAY MAYNARD: “Yeah, Huerta. All these guys, I mean that’s not an easy fight for anybody, I don’t care who you are.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “So is that what you would say to people who say that the wrestling style, taking the guys down, is not exciting? Well you’re just using your bread and butter, right? That’s your strength.”
GRAY MAYNARD: “He could barely hit me, you know. I hit three, four that dazed him a little bit. I just chose it. I can do anything. It’s just whatever… like, my last three, Nate, Huerta, Miller, it was all standing. I took ’em down maybe once.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “Going into the Nate fight, there was a lot of talk that if you’d win that fight you’d get a title shot. Obviously that didn’t happen. Are you 100% certain that you’re getting a title shot now?”
GRAY MAYNARD: “Yeah, I’m 100% certain. Against Nate, I didn’t hear nothing like what [Dana] said and in my mind, I think they kind of had it planned because I know Edgar, he was done in December so they knew he was there and let’s go. So, I knew that there was a chance probably that it could happen but then there’s a chance that they chose him.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “And are you ready for a title shot? I mean in your career do you feel as though you have the tools now to win the title and go on a serious run?”
GRAY MAYNARD: “I’ve beat all the top guys. I’m ready! Any time, I’m prepared, any time. This is my dream. This is what I want. This is what I want and I’ve worked my ass off.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “Finally, you a little emotional? Because you’re finally getting that shot that you thought you maybe deserved a couple of fights ago. How are you feeling internally?”
GRAY MAYNARD: “It hasn’t hit me yet, but I’m all right. Just, I’m going to go drink a Bud Light and check out these fights, I guess.”
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 18 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Gray is going to crush Frankie again. Edgar couldn’t stop BJ’s takedowns; Gray is going to be on top of him for 25 minutes, if Frankie lasts that long.
I think BJ beats Gray however; better hands and I don’t think Gray is as slick in avoiding subs as Frankie proved to be. Also, BJ would have the speed advantage.
Zach: I find it hard to go on knowing that Kotetsu Yamamoto, an mma legend who has touched all of our lives, has passed away. Thank you for posting that.
This situation totally exposes the uselessness of ranking systems and proves “styles make fights.”
Edgar has a style that can defeat Penn. Maynard has a style that can defeat Edgar. For all we know Penn could have a style that can defeat Maynard as David believes. So are you ready to change your mind upwards of 3 times in a year on who the best Lightweight in the world really is and not feel ridiculous?
So is it really worth all the emotional turmoil some people go through obsessing over stupid rankings when this is the real way the sport works laid out in front of you?
But we’ve basically seen the same exact thing with the Light Heavyweight division and nobody got the point there, so it will just be more of the same.
Anderson Silva has been Middleweight Champion for almost 4 years. If you forget about that blimp in GSP’s record against Serra, he has really been the best Welterweight in the world for around 4 years as well. Fedor was kingpin of Heavyweight for 3 years. The last few years he sort of dogged it, but he was a dominant champion from 2003 to 2006.
Sure, styles make fights. But there are still domnant champions in MMA. And what is happening at LHW is just as likely to occur as to what we see at MW or WW.
Lastly…. Maynard would beat Penn.
When something has nothing to do with Fedor, 45 Huddle will find a way to dog him. And when does, I will be there to call him on it.
45 Huddle hates everything that is not in the UFC and he doesn’t mind letting everyone know it.
So that’s why I’m here to call him on it.
The self-anointed Yin to 45’s Yang.
“The self-anointed Yin to 45’s Yang.”
They are both incredibly annoying.
So him saying that Fedor was a dominant champion from 2003-2006 is 45 hating? That doesn’t make too much sense does it?
Jonathon, you to 45 is like Eddie Goldman to the UFC.
Styles make fights… Maynard would lose to Penn. He fights with a very methodical style that BJ could easily adapt himself to.
That tomas rios character had an interesting point last night on after the bell.
(He seems to speak a lot more intelligently than he writes, although he still cant curb or probably even admit his annoyingly unprofessional favoritism).
He (or it might have been the other guy) pointed out that Penn has never lost a round in a fight that he won.
IE all his wins were pretty much blowouts.
And all his loses are when he has been faced with diversity.
Now if thats the truth, that does technically preclude him from being the actual “best lightweight”.
But I do suspect that he’s the most talented.
The hole in his game is a mental/emotional one.
They call those guys FRONT RUNNERS.
Randy Couture is the opposite of that. He can face adversity and come back. An unbroken will.
“The last few years he sort of dogged it, but he was a dominant champion from 2003 to 2006.”
Here’s this
retardeds*** again. Who should Fedor have been fighting in 2007 & 2008?Not Middleweight Matt Lindland. Not Hong Man Choi.
He made no effort to fight the better guys in the division for a few years…. Including anybody in the UFC, Mikro Filipovic rematch after 2006. Waited on the Barnett fight for as long as possible.
Heck, even now they are finding ways to duck Alistair Overeem.
Hardly
retarded.You do know that FEDOR agreed to the fight and Overeem says too late and want to enter K-1 GP right?
Yes he agrees to fight Overeem after he avoided fighting him for a more favorable matchup with Werdum. It bit him in the ass, and now since he’s lost credibilty he is trying to regain it as quick as possible. He needs to just take the fight with Bigfoot.
“Gray Maynard won’t change ‘boring’ fight style or ’smart’ game plans”
I cant recall after all these years, were those Matt Lindlands last words?
J/K
Although we are starting to build up a collection of these dudes.
Good winners, unfortunate entertainers.
That would seem much more appropriate and acceptable for college wrestling/sports then what we’re dealing in here.
Nobody want to watch boring boxers either.
(I’m surprised its lasted this long)
I kid, I kid!
Gurgel is of course the equally unfortunate opposite syndrome.
I’d guess I’d like to see 75-80% get the win, 20-25% put a little zazz on it.
The other bummer about too much workman style fighting is that a boring fighter with make a fight with an exciting fighter boring too.
“I cant recall after all these years, were those Matt Lindlands last words?”
The difference is that Lindland was a giant pain in Zuffa’s ass on the business side while Maynard seems like a company man. Zuffa is willing to put up with boring fighters as long as they win and don’t make waves.
45, shut up.