Clay Guida

Clay Guida (born December 8, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial artist, currently signed to the UFC competing in the Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2003, Guida also formerly competed for Strikeforce, the WEC, King of the Cage, and Shooto. Guida was the inaugural Strikeforce Lightweight Champion. He is widely considered to be one of the toughest fighters in the history of mixed martial arts.

Background
Born and raised in Illinois into an Italian family, Guida began wrestling at the age of five and was a three-sport athlete at Johnsburg High School. He continued his wrestling career for Harper College, where he competed at 149 lbs. He is the younger brother of fellow mixed martial artist, Jason Guida.

Early career
Guida made his professional debut in the summer of 2003, losing via rear-naked choke in the first round. After compiling a record of 3–3, he then won his next 15 consecutive fights before losing via submission at a King of the Cage event in February 2006. Guida was then signed by Strikeforce and fought a month later against Josh Thomson for the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship. Guida won via unanimous decision, before losing to the then-undefeated Gilbert Melendez. After losing his next bout overseas in Japan via submission, Guida was signed by Zuffa and the WEC, making his promotional debut at WEC 23. He won via unanimous decision. With an overall record of 20–6, Guida was signed by the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship
Guida was successful in his UFC debut, submitting Justin James in the second round at UFC 64. The submission earned him the Submission of the Night award.

Guida lost a unanimous decision to Din Thomas at UFC Fight Night: Evans vs. Salmon in his second UFC outing.

Guida garnered attention for his three-round split decision loss to Tyson Griffin at UFC 72. Both fighters were awarded the Fight of the Night bonus.

At UFC 74 Guida rebounded from his two consecutive losses, taking a split decision over PRIDE veteran Marcus Aurélio.

Guida was defeated by Roger Huerta at The Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale via rear-naked choke in the 3rd round after clearly winning the first 2 rounds. Both fighters were awarded the Fight of the Night bonus.

Guida returned to his winning ways at UFC Fight Night 13, where he defeated UFC newcomer Samy Schiavo via TKO at 4:15 of the first round.

In a bout at UFC Fight Night 15, he defeated Mac Danzig via unanimous decision (30–27, 29–28, 29–28).

Guida defeated Ultimate Fighter winner Nate Diaz via split decision at UFC 94. Both fighters were awarded the Fight of the Night bonus.

His next fight was against Diego Sanchez, at The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom Finale which he lost by split decision. The fight had a frantic pace in which Guida weathered a ferocious striking offensive from Sanchez, with a seemingly endless barrage of punches and a brutal headkick which dropped Guida in the first round. This bout went on to win Fight of the Night honors. The fight would later make #13 on the "100 Greatest UFC fights" list.

Despite his status as an up-and-coming UFC fighter he was not included in the UFC 2009 Undisputed video game due to technical issues caused by his long hair. He was even offered $10,000 by Dana White to cut it, but he refused.

On December 12, 2009, he fought Kenny Florian at UFC 107. In the second round of a bloody fight, Guida was dropped by a right hand and lost via rear-naked choke.

Guida was expected to face Sean Sherk on March 21, 2010, at UFC LIVE: Vera vs. Jones, but Sherk was forced off the card with an injury. Shannon Gugerty stepped up to become Guida's new opponent on the preliminary section of the event. At UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones Guida defeated Shannon Gugerty at 3:40 of round 2 by way of arm-triangle choke, ending Guida's two fight losing streak along with winning his first UFC Submission of the Night award.

Guida then faced Rafael dos Anjos on August 7, 2010, at UFC 117. Guida appeared to injure the jaw of dos Anjos in the first round with a hook and would go on to defeat dos Anjos by submission (jaw injury) after dos Anjos tapped from the pressure being applied to his jaw while Guida had head-and-arm control.

Guida defeated Takanori Gomi on January 1, 2011, at UFC 125 by submission due to a guillotine choke in round two, his third consecutive submission victory which also earned him Submission of the Night honors.

Guida next defeated former #1 Lightweight contender Anthony Pettis via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) on June 4, 2011, at The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale.

Guida faced Benson Henderson on November 12, 2011, at UFC on Fox 1. Guida lost a hard fought decision after three rounds. Both fighters were awarded the Fight of the Night bonus.

Guida faced Gray Maynard on June 22, 2012, at UFC on FX 4. Guida lost to Maynard via split decision.

For his next fight, Guida moved down to the featherweight division and faced Hatsu Hioki on January 26, 2013, at UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Dodson. Despite being outstruck by Hioki for the majority of the fight, Guida was able to take Hioki down multiple times using a strong top game and avoid Hioki's submission attempts from the bottom. Guida defeated Hioki via split decision.

Guida was expected to face Chad Mendes on April 20, 2013, at UFC on Fox 7. However it was revealed on March 15 that Guida had pulled out of the bout citing an injury.

A rescheduled bout with Mendes took place on August 31, 2013, at UFC 164. After a close first and second round, Guida was defeated by Mendes via TKO by punches, marking the first time ever in his career that he was finished by strikes.

Guida faced Tatsuya Kawajiri at UFC Fight Night 39. He won the fight by unanimous decision, in a performance that earned both participants Fight of the Night honors.

Guida faced Dennis Bermudez on July 26, 2014, at UFC on Fox 12. He lost the bout via submission in the second round.

Guida faced Robbie Peralta on April 4, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 63. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Guida faced Thiago Tavares on November 7, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 77. He lost the fight due to a guillotine choke submission early in the first round.

Guida faced Brian Ortega on June 4, 2016, at UFC 199. He lost the fight via KO in the third round.

Guida next faced Erik Koch at UFC Fight Night: Chiesa vs. Lee on June 25, 2017. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Guida faced Joe Lauzon on November 11, 2017, at UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Pettis. He won via TKO in the first round.

Guida was expected to face Bobby Green on June 9, 2018, at UFC 225. However, Green pulled out of the bout, citing an injury and was replaced by Charles Oliveira Guida lost the fight via guillotine choke submission in the first round.

Guida next faced former two-division UFC champion B.J. Penn on May 11, 2019, at UFC 237. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

On June 28, 2019, it was announced that the fight between Guida and Diego Sanchez at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale, where Sanchez defeat Guida by split decision, on June 20, 2009, will be honored to enter the UFC Hall of Fame during the international fight July 2019.

Guida faced Jim Miller on August 3, 2019, at UFC on ESPN 5. He lost the fight via a technical submission due to a guillotine choke in the first minute of the first round.

Guida faced Bobby Green on June 20, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Volkov. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

As the first fight of his new, four-fight contract Guida faced Michael Johnson on February 6, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 184. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Guida faced Mark Madsen on August 21, 2021, at UFC on ESPN 29. He lost the fight via split decision.

Guida faced Leonardo Santos on December 4, 2021, at UFC on ESPN: Font vs. Aldo. Despite nearly being finished with knees and punches in round one, Guida came back and won the fight via rear-naked choke submission in round two. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.

Guida faced Claudio Puelles on April 23, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 205. He lost the fight via a kneebar in round one.

Guida faced Scott Holtzman on December 3, 2022, at UFC on ESPN 42. He won the fight via split decision.

Guida faced Rafa García on April 15, 2023, at UFC on ESPN 44. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Guida faced Joaquim Silva on December 2, 2023, at UFC on ESPN 52. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Other combat sports
Guida defeated Billy Quarantillo by unanimous decision in a submission grappling match on December 30, 2021, at Fury Pro Grappling 3.

Guida returned to wrestling competition at the 2022 US Open, competing alongside his teammate Urijah Faber at the event.

On May 28, 2022, Guida competed in the co-main event of Fury Pro Grappling 4, facing Brad Boulton in a submission grappling match. Guida submitted Boulton with an arm-triangle choke at 7:22.

Guida competed in a submission grappling match against fellow UFC fighter Chase Hooper in the co-main event of Fury Pro Grappling 6 on December 30, 2022, and was submitted with a calf slicer at 3:55.

Sponsorship
Clay Guida starred in a National commercial for SafeAuto Insurance. The commercial was filmed in Columbus, Ohio in April 2011. Guida is one of several fighters who represents the SafeAuto Fight Team.

Guida is managed by VFD Sports Marketing, a sports marketing company that focuses on UFC athletes.

Personal life
Guida is a fan of the Chicago Bears and Chicago Cubs. Guida is also a die hard Grateful Dead fan. He attended the GD50 Grateful Dead reunion shows.

Championships and accomplishments

 * Strikeforce
 * Strikeforce Lightweight Championship (One time; first)
 * Ultimate Fighting Championship
 * Fight of the Night (Six times) vs. Tyson Griffin, Roger Huerta, Nate Diaz, Diego Sanchez, Benson Henderson and Tatsuya Kawajiri
 * 2007 Fight of the Year vs. Roger Huerta
 * 2009 Fight of the Year vs. Diego Sanchez
 * Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Leonardo Santos
 * Submission of the Night (Three times) vs. Justin James, Shannon Gugerty and Takanori Gomi
 * Fourth most bouts in UFC history (36)
 * Second most bouts in UFC Lightweight division history (29) (behind Jim Miller)
 * Fourth most takedowns landed in UFC history (78)
 * Second most takedowns landed in UFC Lightweight division history (65) (behind Gleison Tibau)
 * Fifth most total fight time in UFC history (6:59:36)
 * Second most total fight time in UFC Lightweight division history (5:40:50) (behind Jim Miller)
 * Most control time in UFC Lightweight division history (2:06:34)
 * Second most control time in UFC history (2:36:28) (behind Georges St-Pierre)
 * Most top position time in UFC Lightweight division history (1:29:44)
 * Third most top position time in UFC history (1:48:14)
 * Second most total strikes landed in UFC Lightweight division history (1685) (behind Bobby Green)
 * Tied (Angela Hill & Jim Miller) for third most decision bouts in UFC history (20)
 * Tied (Jorge Masvidal, Angela Hill, Cortney Casey, Paul Felder & Andrea Lee) for most split decision losses in UFC history (4)
 * Tied for second most split decision wins in UFC history (4)
 * Most split decision bouts in UFC history (8)
 * Tied (Jeremy Stephens & Andrei Arlovski) for most losses in UFC history (18)
 * UFC Hall of Fame (fight wing, class of 2019) vs. Diego Sanchez at The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom Finale
 * FIGHT! Magazine
 * Fight of the Year vs. Roger Huerta (2007)
 * World MMA Awards
 * 2009 Fight of the Year vs. Diego Sanchez at The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom Finale
 * Wrestling Observer Newsletter
 * Fight of the Year (2009) vs. Diego Sanchez on June 20
 * Tequila CAZADORES Spirit Award
 * Tequila CAZADORES Spirit Award (Two times)