Roger Huerta comes into this fight after a long hiatus; basically he's been missing in action since his UFC 87 loss to Kenny Florian. This means a year has past since his last fight. Huerta comes into this fight with an overall record of 20-2, with ten wins via TKO/KO, and four submission wins. Huerta is very durable and possesses a lot of heart as evident in the Clay Guida fight. He is fairly well rounded, but is susceptible to the take down which is something I'm sure he has worked on in the past year. This will be the last fight on his UFC contract, and he has stated that he'll pursue an acting/modeling career next. However, if he beats Maynard, it's a given that the UFC will make him a lucrative offer considering his ethnicity and style of fighting.
Gray Maynard comes into this fight fresh off a decision win against the always tough Jim Miller at UFC 96. Maynard is undefeated coming into this fight with an overall record of 7-0 with 5 of those wins coming via decision. This is something that Maynard has to address if he ever wants to become an elite lightweight fighter. He has only finished one of his opponents since he began fighting in the UFC. Maynard is primarily a wrestler with evolving striking skills who is a large, brutally strong lightweight.
This could be a great fight depending on what type of fight Maynard wants to have, because he'll be able to dictate where the fight takes place with his superior wrestling. I think we'll see some striking with some take downs and scramble opportunities. Huerta will want to keep the fight standing and take it to Maynard while avoiding being taken down. I think Maynard should be able to win this with his strength and wrestling ability coupled with the fact that Huerta hasn't fought in over a year. What say you?
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