Maynard talks about his upcoming bout
It seems that things are heating up as the UFC 118 comes near, not only for the millions of fans, but also for the fighters who will display their talents for the fans.
With just a few more days before the event, top lightweight fighter Gray "The Bully" Maynard talked about his upcoming bout to MMA Weekly Radio. Gray “The Bully” Maynard is scheduled to fight Kenny “Ken-Flo” Florian on August 28 as the UFC goes to Boston.
“Florian's tough, but I'm prepared for him,” said Maynard.
“I've had some tough scraps. Nate [Diaz], that's a tough guy to fight. [Roger] Huerta, again, that's a tough guy to fight, and Florian had a pretty close one with him. (Jim) Miller, he's done good. I keep going through them,” said Maynard, reflecting on his previous fights.
The Bully has got an impressive record of nine wins, no loss and one no contest. On one of his early UFC bouts, he was able to score a first round knock-out over Joe Veres. What’s more interesting is that he did it in only nine seconds, making it one of the fastest bouts in the history of UFC.
Talking about Ken-Flo as his next opponent, Maynard knows that he’s a tough opponent, too. However, he also pointed out some of his observations on how Ken-Flo deals business inside the cage.
“Florian's had some quick ones, ran through whoever, I don’t judge a guy on that. I judge a guy when it's a tough scrap. Does he keep straight and keep moving ahead? With (B.J.) Penn, I saw him change his plan up quickly when he got hit really hard. Maybe it’s true, maybe it's not, but that was a tough fight. That's how I judge him,” said Maynard.
Fighting out of Massachusetts and holding a record of 13-4, Kenny Florian has defeated many well-known lightweight fighters including Takanori Gomi, Joe Stevenson and Clay Guida. Guida shares at least one stylistic similarity with Maynard, in that they're both powerful wrestlers. But that doesn't bother Maynard.
“He has beat Clay, which you get down to it, Clay's about half and half for theUFC," Maynard stated. "Lot of losses, and some decent wins, he's alright, but he did good, Florian did,” he continued.
Meanwhile, Gray Maynard, who hails from Phoenix, Arizona, has been a wrestler his whole life. Looking back on his wrestling roots, he was an NCAA level wrestler who tried out to be part of the US 2004 Olympic wrestling team. Though he did not actually become part of the team, his dreams did not end there. He started out MMA in Las Vegas until he trained with the legendary Randy Couture and became part of the Xtreme Couture.
On his past fights with Nate Diaz, Roger Huerta and Jim Miller, Maynard was able to endure the three painstaking rounds, winning by way of decision. To sum it up, he showcased good fights and nevertheless proved that his striking and wrestling skills are simply one of the best in his weight class.
Now, he’s good to go and all fired up. And with regards to Ken-Flo, Maynard’s pretty confident that he’s got what it takes to win.
“Well, I know one thing for sure, I can deal with it. That's one thing I believe in, is me. I don't care if it's three rounds, I don’t care what it is, I'm going to be there every minute, and I'm going to fight you. Whether he does or not, I don't care,” said Maynard.
To make things more competitive, the Maynard-Florian bout will determine the number one contender for the UFC Lightweight title.
Will “The Bully” successfully take on his opponent, continue his win streak and get a crack for the title? What's certain is that he isn't showing any lack of confidence. Then again, with nine wins and no losses, why would he?
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