Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida
Diego Sanchez defeats Clay Guida You can’t argue the fact that this was a very exciting match. The stare down alone ensured it would win fight of the night honors. Joe Rogan tried to get that portion extended to 30 minutes, albeit to no avail. What people have been disputing is the outcome of the match. But is it really as controversial as it seems? Let’s go through the match round by round and find out. The opening seconds of the fight were thrilling. Both combatants came out swinging. For the most part, Clay Guida was the one getting hit. Diego used the straight left/right uppercut combination numerous times. After a brief rest period (otherwise known as a Clay Guida takedown) Diego landed a beautiful high kick. Guida looked like he was done. However the power in his hair was strong that night and he kept fighting. Easily, this was Diego’s round. Given the blood and near finish involved, this could have been a 10-8 round. The second round saw much more of Guida on top. As Joe pointed out, Sanchez is not known for being dangerous off his back. Future opponents should take note. Having said that, Diego managed to throw a lot of elbows from this position. While he wasn’t able to get Guida off as quickly as he wanted to, he inflicted more damage than his opponent. However we’re used to seeing the guy on top as being the one winning on points. It seems that this trend is beginning to end. I’d say it’s about damn time. The third round was much closer. Both fighters were hesitant to engage for the first few minutes. Once again, Guida managed to get on top. However Diego went for numerous submission attempts. It should be noted that at this point Diego was smothered and covered in the carpenter’s blood. This may have played a role in the judges’ decision. As for whom you’d give the round to, it depends on what you value more – top position or submission attempts. So, you’ve got one round solidly for Sanchez and two that could be debated. There’s nothing terribly controversial about the decision, especially considering what we’ve seen in the past. More than anything, this match showed that judges are starting to look at more things that are happening than just who’s on top. Clay Guida may have to grow another few inches to his hair in order to gain some fight-ending power. As for Diego, he better make sure he can make the weight cut even easier next time. Going five rounds with either Penn or Florian will be tougher than what he did on this night against Guida. Go back to the Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale Results
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