Thanks in no small part to Frankie Edgar, former top lightweight contender Gray Maynard has not tasted victory in the Octagon since 2010. Players in Sherdog.com’s MMA Pick’Em fantasy game believe that things are about to change for “The Bully” in the UFC on FX 4 main event on Friday, as 71 percent have selected him to defeat Clay Guida at Revel Casino in Atlantic City, N.J.
Guida fell short in his bid to become the division’s No. 1 contender in November, dropping a spirited three-round decision to Benson Henderson at UFC on Fox 1. Prior to that defeat, “The Carpenter” had won four straight fights, besting Shannon Gugerty, Rafael dos Anjos, Takanori Gomi and Anthony Pettis in succession.
Other Pick’Em Trends for UFC on FX 4:
• An overwhelming 90 percent of participants favor Sam Stout in his rubber match with Spencer Fisher at lightweight. Stout took an exciting victory over Fisher in his Octagon debut in 2006. “The King” exacted his revenge at UFC Fight Night 10, taking a unanimous decision over “Hands of Stone” in yet another action-packed affair;
• A whopping 93 percent of Pick’Em competitors have chosen Brian Ebersole in a welterweight clash against submission specialist T.J. Waldburger. Ebersole has emerged victorious in his first three Octagon appearances, earning wins over Chris Lytle, Dennis Hallman and Claude Patrick. Waldburger, meanwhile, has notched 12 of his 15 professional victories via submission, including his last two in the UFC;
• A solid 71 percent of users like Ross Pearson to make his second effort at featherweight a successful one when he squares off with WEC veteran Cub Swanson. A winner on “The Ultimate Fighter 9,” Pearson won his initial effort at 145 pounds, taking a decision from Junior Assuncao at UFC 141. After a submission loss to Ricardo Lamas in November, Swanson rebounded to capture his first UFC victory in January with a second-round TKO of George Roop;
• In preliminary bouts, players have sided with Hatsu Hioki (92 percent) over Ricardo Lamas, Ramsey Nijem (77 percent) over C.J. Keith, Rick Story (95 percent) over Brock Jardine, Steven Siler (79 percent) over Joey Gambino, Nick Catone (76 percent) over Chris Camozzi, Matt Brown (89 percent) over Luis Ramos, Dan Miller (97 percent) over Ricardo Funch and Dustin Pague (85 percent) over Ken Stone.