Clay Guida, Nate Diaz win co-main events at UFC "Ultimate Fight Night"

Dana White has famously said that UFC fighters are rewarded more on how they fight than on the basis of their W/L record. That is likely of little consolation to Clay Guida, who has spent much of his UFC tenure buried in “non-televised” undercards. While Guida entered his Ultimate Fight Night bout on Wednesday with a 3-3 UFC record, two of the three losses were in “fight of the year candidate” performances. So, too, was a loss in STRIKEFORCE to Gilbert Melendez. That’s how Guida fights—instantly recognizable by his shaggy mane of hair in a sport full of razor smooth pates, he’s always in insane shape, pushes the tempo and personifies tenacity. The only real liability he has as a fighter is that he’s sometimes too aggressive for his own good. Still, this “liability” is part of his fighting style and makes him incredibly fun to watch.

Appearing on a live broadcast for only the 2nd time in his UFC tenure (the previous occasion being his “fight of the year” candidate loss to Roger Huerta), Guida took matters into his own hands with a dominating unanimous decision victory over “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 6 winner Mac Danzig. Guida had trouble early on with Danzig’s crisp striking, but as the fight wore on the frenetic workrate of “The Carpenter” combined with his superior conditioning left his opponent gasping for breath. The tenacious Guida kept walking through Danzig’s punches and kicks working for takedowns and after some initial difficulty took his opponent down repeatedly throughout the fight. The second round was punctuated by a Guida suplex from Danzig’s back a la Josh Barnett, while the third was simply a relentless assault on his exhausted foe who could do little more than try to mitigate the damage.

With the victory, Guida will hopefully become a permanent fixture on UFC PPV events. His “second class” status with the promotion is downright puzzling given his popularity with the fans, the professionalism with which he approaches his craft and his entertaining style of fighting.

In the co-main event, TUF season 5 winner Nate Diaz earned a hard fought split decision victory over a feisty Josh Neer. Neer vowed to test Diaz’s chin early and did just that, but as the fight progressed Diaz took control with his slick Brazilian Jiu Jitsu skills and superior reach. Despite Diaz putting on a BJJ clinic at various points in the fight, the game Neer used his toughness and wits to avoid countless submission attempts.

Diaz, the younger brother of controversial EliteXC/DREAM competitor Nick Diaz, has a similar “chip on his shoulder” but was very complementary of Neer after his split decision victory was announced: “This dude right here can fight” was Diaz’s assessment of his opponent .

The “Ultimate Fight Night” events have become a showcase for the UFC’s up-and-coming fighters. The event gets them national exposure on SPIKE TV, and insures the UFC a strong “lead in” audience for the season premiere of “The Ultimate Fighter” which traditionally follows the event.