Gray Maynard had the perfect chance to steal the title from Frankie Edgar at UFC 125. He won't let the title slip through his fingers Saturday at UFC 136.
Two evenly matched fighters will once again battle over the UFC Lightweight Championship.
Gray Maynard has given Frankie Edgar his only blemishes on what has been an otherwise perfect career. Dana White did a perfect job in getting these two together in what has been as good a rivalry as any other has in the UFC.
Maynard has one big advantage over Edgar, and that's a nothing to lose attitude in the octagon. Edgar knew what he was facing in UFC 125, and very nearly lost the bout if it weren't for a resilient effort that saw him convince the judges in a rare draw.
On Saturday, Maynard gets what could be a last shot at the title, and we will not let it get passed him. Maynard approaches fights with an unrelenting fury of punches, something that saw him stun Edgar in UFC 125.
The one thing he didn't account for is that he would exhaust himself as Edgar took the barrage. This time will be different.
Maynard tell ESPN:
Yeah, it was terrifying. I didn’t know how I was going to fight the rest of the way -- it was a gut check.Ok, here’s the whole comparison. What I did before, it would be like [Shane] Carwin and Brock. If I have [Edgar] hurt again, it’ll be like Cain Velasquez and Brock. More calculated, slower, picking it apart.
Maynard has learned from his mistake. You won't see him dumping everything he has in the first moments, only to see his legs go from him in the closing minutes.
The key is to approach the title fight with some degree of nuance. Frankie Edgar is not a fighter you bludgeon with sheer power and ferocity. The title won't be won with the archaic tactics.
Maynard has the full package to get the victory if he fights smarter, not harder. I am confident that he has gained exactly what he needed from the draw months ago.
Now it will be about power, ferocity and a great deal of pace. That edge will take the title from Frankie Edgar.
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