155 lbs. Roger “El Matador” Huerta (20-2-1) vs. Gray “The Bully” Maynard (7-0)
Odds: (-280 Maynard / +220 Huerta) at Sportsbook.com
Prediction: Maynard by a lopsided unanimous decision victory
The co-main event of the evening is a very competitive Lightweight showdown between two fighters who could both be title contenders in the near future, Roger “El Matador” Huerta and undefeated Gray “The Bully” Maynard. Both fighters rely heavily on their wrestling ability to win, so whoever can win the wrestling exchanges will be in a great position to win the fight.
Roger Huerta is one of the most exciting Lightweights on the UFC roster, but he enters this fight surrounded by questions. Earlier this year, Huerta announced that he would be leaving UFC to pursue an acting career. This fight with Maynard is presumably to satisfy a contractual obligation, but Huerta’s future in the sport is in doubt past this fight. Still, no one can deny his natural ability or his skill set. A great wrestler with good submissions and very good kickboxing, Huerta has all the tools to be a top fighter, regardless of his motivation.
Maynard’s nickname, “The Bully”, is perhaps the most apt fighter nickname in the sport. Maynard’s style is bruising, reminiscent of guys like Mark Coleman and Mark Kerr from the younger days of the sport. Maynard’s wrestling is so dominant that he wins fights simply by taking guys down and completely controlling them on the ground. It is not always the most crowd-pleasing style of fighting, but it has earned Maynard an unblemished professional record, including a dominant victory over the highly-touted Frankie Edgar.
All questions about Huerta’s motivation and dedication aside, this is not a great fight for him. He may have an advantage against Maynard in the standup, but his bread and butter is wrestling, and in that regard he is totally outmatched by Maynard. Even if Huerta was fully committed to training and fighting, I don’t think he would have an answer for Maynard’s powerful takedowns and smothering top control and ground and pound.
I see Maynard neutralizing Huerta’s offense, controlling him from top position and beating his face up en route to a unanimous decision.
