Former St. Edward wrestler picks up another UFC victory

Gray Maynard has parlayed his high school
wrestling success into a UFC career.

The UFC rolled into Oklahoma Wednesday night for UFC Fight Night, and the result was another outstanding night of fights. One of the feature bouts on the card was Gray Maynard, a former state champion wrestler at St. Edward High School in Lakewood, taking on veteran Roger Huerta.

Maynard attended St. Ed’s in 1997 and 1998, before heading to Michigan State to continue his successful wrestling career. He is now an up and comer in the UFC’s lightweight division, and in Huerta he was facing possibly the toughest test of his young MMA career.

The first round was spent on their feet, with a prolonged feeling out process. Huerta was returning from a 13 months layoff, and he appeared to be taking his time in getting back the feel of the Octagon. Maynard obliged him this opportunity, and ended up paying for it once Huerta got comfortable. Maynard was hit with a few decent shots that backed him up, and the rest of the round he seemed content to avoid any further damage while taking the opportunity to figure out Huerta’s timing.

In round two, Maynard appeared much more comfortable, as he was able to time Huerta’s advances and land strong counter punches when Huerta attacked. Lessons learned in round one were put to good use, and Maynard clearly appeared to be taking control of the fight.

During round three, Maynard was able to take Huerta to the ground and inflict damage. Maynard was very composed as he scored points and began looking for an opening for a submission attempt. After a few minutes with Huerta pinned on the ground against the cage, it appeared that Maynard had found that chance. He locked in a sick Kimura, and it appeared it was only a matter of seconds before Huerta tapped, as it looked like Maynard was on the verge of tearing Huerta’s arm right off his body.

In a huge testament to the heart of Huerta, as well a question as to whether his arms are attached to his torso in the same fashion as the rest of us, Huerta managed to escape. With time still left, this was a perfect opportunity for Maynard to suffer a let down and get caught without something bad. But he stayed composed, not showing a bit of frustration, and finished the round strong.

While one of the judges scored the fight for Huerta, Maynard came away with a well deserved split decision victory. After disposing of a top notch opponent, Maynard has positioned himself for another primetime fight in the near future.

In other action, Nate Quarry slugged out a victory over Tim Credeur in what later earned Fight of the Night honors. Former WEC champion Carlos Condit picked up his first UFC victory over game newcomer Jake Ellenberger in another back and forth fight that saw Condit getting the split decision win.

In the feature bout of the night, Nate Diaz patiently ate punches for a round and a half against Melvin Guillard, waiting for the opportunity to get the fight to the ground where he could begin throwing submissions on Guillard. A few times in round one, Diaz ended up on his back, and Guillard wisely allowed him to stand back up. In round two, after an exchange on their feet, Guillard found himself all tangled up in the arms and legs of Diaz and tapping out to a guillotine choke.

So out of Oklahoma heads the UFC, and onto Texas, where Saturday night the fun continues with UFC 103.