| Gray Maynard | |
|---|---|
| Born | Bradley Gray Maynard May 9, 1979 Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. |
| Other names | The Bully |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[1] |
| Weight | 155 lb (70.3 kg; 11.1 st) |
| Division | Lightweight (155 lb) |
| Reach | 70 in (178 cm) |
| Style | Boxing, Wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Fighting out of | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. |
| Team | Nova União[2] |
| Rank | blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Wrestling | NCAA Division I Wrestling |
| Years active | 2006 – present (MMA) |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 13 |
| Wins | 10 |
| By knockout | 2 |
| By decision | 8 |
| Losses | 1 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| Draws | 1 |
| No contests | 1 |
| Amateur career | |
| Total | 1 |
| Wins | 1 |
| Other information | |
| University | Michigan State University |
| Notable school(s) | St. Edward High School Durango High School Bonanza High School |
| Website | Official UFC Profile http://www.graymaynard.com/ |
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Bradley Gray Maynard (born May 9, 1979) is an American amateur wrestler and mixed martial artist, who competes as a lightweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He has recorded one of the fastest knockouts in UFC history, at 9 seconds against Joe Veres. He is the only fighter to hold a win over current champion Frankie Edgar, with whom he has a noted rivalry. Maynard is ranked as the #3 lightweight fighter in the world by Sherdog, #9 pound-for-pound fighter in the world by Yahoo Sports[3] and he is ranked as the #3 lightweight fighter in the world by MMAWeekly.[4]
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Maynard's father, Jan, was a two-time Ohio high school state wrestling champion. He also has a sister named Misty.[5] Maynard attended Bonanza High School in Las Vegas and transferred to St. Edward High School in Lakewood, Ohio, for two years,[6] and excelled in its wrestling program. In 1997, he placed second in the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) state tournament in the 140 lb weight class for Division I. In 1998, he was the state champion at the 152 lb weight class.[7] His high school record was an impressive 135–16, including being undefeated in his sophomore and senior years.[8] His nickname of "Bully" came from his dog, Hank, a bull terrier he rescued.[5]
Maynard wrestled alongside former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans at Michigan State University, They were also roommates. He was redshirted in his freshman year. In 2001, he placed eighth at the NCAA Division I Collegiate Wrestling Championship at 157 lb weight class. In 2002 and 2003, he placed seventh.[9] The performance earned the MSU co-captain All-American honors for the third time in his collegiate career.[10] Upon his graduation, Maynard ranked 11th all-time in MSU history with 106 career wins and seventh with 26 falls.[11]
After not being selected for the 2004 US Olympic wrestling team, Maynard considered retirement from the sport. He was then recruited to be a sparring partner for mixed martial arts fighter and former Lightweight UFC champion B.J. Penn. With his exposure to the new sport, Maynard sought to compete in it. With his wrestling connections, he eventually became a student and training partner of UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture.[12]
In an interview with Fightlockdown.com, Maynard stated that he believed that he was the most accomplished wrestler in the UFC lightweight division.[13]
Maynard appeared on the "Schumacher Family" episode of Supernanny teaching the family's 7-year-old son about MMA at Randy Couture's gym . Maynard also was an Assistant Coach alongside Forrest Griffin and Tyson Griffin with head coach Rich Franklin on the last episode of the 11th season of The Ultimate Fighter.
Maynard was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 5, which featured lightweights exclusively. He was selected by B.J. Penn to be on his team and was Penn's pick to make it to the finals.
Maynard beat Wayne Weems in the preliminary round. In the quarterfinals, Maynard faced Brandon Melendez in a tough matchup and won the fight with a guillotine choke in the second round. He lost his semifinal matchup in the second round against Nate Diaz due to guillotine choke.
As part of the The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale preliminary Card on June 23, 2007, Maynard fought Rob Emerson in a controversial Lightweight fight. Maynard seemed to be in control of the fight in round one. During the second round he picked up Emerson and slammed him to the mat. Emerson immediately tapped out because of an injury to his ribs. The referee believed that Maynard also could not continue because he seemed to have hit his head on the mat and knocked himself out due to the force of his own slam. Since both fighters could not continue he ruled it a "No Contest". UFC President Dana White commented, "I know one thing, that Maynard was out cold". Maynard did not agree, and cited the cage-side doctors, who, after testing Maynard, found he had suffered no concussion during the bout.[14]
In his next fight he took on Joe Veres at UFC Fight Night 11 and knocked him out with the first punch he threw, after nine seconds. It was the second fastest knockout in UFC history (at that time, see UFC 102). Next Maynard won a unanimous decision victory over Dennis Siver at UFC Fight Night 12 earning scores of 29–28, 29–28 and 30–27. At UFC Fight Night 13, he faced lightweight standout Frankie Edgar in the first bout of their rivalry. Maynard won a 30–27 unanimous decision on all cards to hand Edgar his first and only loss to date. He used his superior wrestling to control the fight, winning a decision.
Maynard also worked as an assistant wrestling coach for Forrest Griffin as part of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest.
Maynard earned a unanimous decision over Rich Clementi at UFC 90. In his fight, Maynard once again showed his superior wrestling as he controlled Clementi on the ground for 3 rounds. He did however appear notably disappointed during his post fight interview that he was unable to finish the fight.
Maynard then fought at UFC 96, against lightweight Jim Miller, winning by unanimous decision once again, with all three judges scoring the bout 30–27. Maynard kept the fight on the feet inversing his wrestling skills with excellent takedown defense and displayed solid standup skills, particularly looping bodyshot combos.
Maynard won against Roger Huerta via split decision at UFC Fight Night 19. During the fight, he had Huerta in a visibly deep kimura, though his opponent refused to submit.
Maynard defeated TUF 5 lightweight champion Nate Diaz via split decision at UFC Fight Night 20.[15]
Maynard defeated Kenny Florian on August 28, 2010 at UFC 118 via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28), Maynard took him down at will and controlled Florian on the mat, thus becoming the number one contender for the UFC Lightweight Championship.
In a Fight Of The Night winning contest, Maynard and incumbent champion Frankie Edgar fought to a split draw on January 1, 2011 at UFC 125, resulting in Edgar retaining his belt. Early reports were that that former WEC champion Anthony Pettis would receive the next title shot, but Dana White later announced that instead Edgar vs Maynard 3 would be the next lightweight title fight at UFC 130.[16][17] On May 9, it was announced that injuries to both forced the fight to be removed from the card.
The third bout between Edgar and Maynard took place on October 8, 2011 as the main event of UFC 136.[18]Maynard was defeated by Edgar via TKO at 3:54 of round 4, resulting in the first official loss of his career.
On November 21, 2011 Maynard's Head boxing coach Gil Martinez told The MMA Show, that Maynard would be leaving Xtreme Couture gym for American Kickboxing Academy.
Maynard and his longtime girlfriend are currently engaged.[19]
Currently Gray Maynard is co-starring in the movie, "Submission" with Ving Rhames and Ernie Reyes, Jr..[20]
Maynard's conditioning has been a noteworthy subject amongst fighters and broadcasters alike. During his entrance at UFC 125, Joe Rogan noted how Gray's performance is not severely hindered by traditional pre-fight weight cutting practices, noting that while the lightweight champion Frankie Edgar walks around close to the 155-pound weight limit, Maynard during training will sometimes weigh as much as 200 pounds. This means that from the start of training to the day of the official weigh-in, Maynard cuts between 25 and 35 lbs. to make the required 155.
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 13 matches | 10 wins | 1 loss |
| By knockout | 2 | 1 |
| By submission | 0 | 0 |
| By decision | 8 | 0 |
| Draws | 1 | |
| No contests | 1 | |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 10-1-1 (1) | Frankie Edgar | TKO (punches) | UFC 136 | October 8, 2011 | 4 | 3:54 | Houston, Texas, United States | For the UFC Lightweight Championship |
| Draw | 10–0–1 (1) | Frankie Edgar | Draw (split) | UFC 125 | January 1, 2011 | 5 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | For the UFC Lightweight Championship; Fight of the Night. Fight of the Year. |
| Win | 10–0 (1) | Kenny Florian | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 118 | August 28, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Boston, Massachusetts, United States | UFC Lightweight title eliminator |
| Win | 9–0 (1) | Nate Diaz | Decision (split) | UFC Fight Night: Maynard vs. Diaz | January 11, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Fairfax, Virginia, United States | |
| Win | 8–0 (1) | Roger Huerta | Decision (split) | UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs. Guillard | September 16, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States | |
| Win | 7–0 (1) | Jim Miller | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 96 | March 7, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Columbus, Ohio, United States | |
| Win | 6–0 (1) | Rich Clementi | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 90 | October 25, 2008 | 3 | 5:00 | Rosemont, Illinois, United States | |
| Win | 5–0 (1) | Frankie Edgar | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Lauzon | April 2, 2008 | 3 | 5:00 | Broomfield, Colorado, United States | |
| Win | 4–0 (1) | Dennis Siver | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Swick vs Burkman | January 23, 2008 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 3–0 (1) | Joe Veres | KO (punch) | UFC Fight Night: Thomas vs Florian | September 19, 2007 | 1 | 0:09 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| NC | 2–0 (1) | Rob Emerson | No Contest (both fighters ko'd) | The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale | June 23, 2007 | 2 | 0:39 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Both fighters were judged unable to continue |
| Win | 2–0 | Brent Weedman | Decision (unanimous) | WEF: Orleans Arena | June 10, 2006 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Joshua Powell | TKO (punches) | Title Fighting Championships 1 | April 21, 2006 | 1 | 2:56 | Des Moines, Iowa, United States |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 2–1 | Nate Diaz | Submission (guillotine choke) | The Ultimate Fighter 5 | 2 | 1:17 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Semi-finals | |
| Win | 2–0 | Brandon Melendez | Submission (guillotine choke) | The Ultimate Fighter 5 | 2 | 4:07 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Quarter-finals | |
| Win | 1–0 | Wayne Weems | TKO (strikes) | The Ultimate Fighter 5 | January 2007 | 1 | 2:47 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Preliminary bout |
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