Gray Maynard

MMAstatsbox|name=Gray Maynard


nick=The Bully
height=height|ft=5|in=6.5 [ [http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=fighter.detail&pid=682 UFC® : Ultimate Fighting Championship® ] ]
weight=convert|155|lb|kg|abbr=on|lk=on
birthdate=birth date and age|year=1979|month=5|day=9
fightingfrom=Las Vegas, Nevada
hometown=Las Vegas, Nevada
fightteam=Xtreme Couture
fightstyle=Wrestling
wins=5
losses=0
nocontest=1
ko=1
submissions=0|

Bradley Gray Maynard known as Gray Maynard (born May 9 , 1979) is an American amateur wrestler and professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter. He currently competes as an MMA fighter in the UFC lightweight division.

Bio

Maynard attended St. Edward High School in Lakewood, Ohio and excelled in its national-championship wrestling program. Maynard was seen on the 1/9/08 episode of ABC's Super Nanny teaching a 7 year old son about MMA at Randy Couture's gym to release his anger on the mats and not his mom.

Maynard wrestled alongside current UFC light heavyweight Rashad Evans at Michigan State University. Maynard’s final season was in 2003, a year in which he finished seventh at the NCAA Wrestling Championships at 157 pounds. The performance earned the MSU co-captain All-American honors for the third time in his collegiate career. Upon his graduation, Maynard ranked 11th all-time in MSU history with 106 career wins and seventh with 26 falls.

After failing to earn a berth on the 2004 US Olympic wrestling team, Maynard considered retirement when he was recruited to be a sparring partner for mixed martial arts fighter and Current Lightweight UFC champion B. J. Penn. With his exposure to the new sport, Maynard sought to compete in the sport, and with his wrestling connections, he eventually became a student and training partner of UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture, who also has a background in amateur wrestling. [cite web
first=Thomas
last=Gerbasi
url=http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=news.detail&gid=6467
title=Maynard Eager to 'Bully' the 155 Pound Division
date=2007-06-19
accessdate=2007-06-20
publisher=UFC.com]

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.

Gray 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 Nathan Diaz due to guillotine choke.

At the "The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale", Gray fought Rob Emerson in a controversial fight. Gray seemed to be in control of the fight in round one, and in 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 claimed that Gray 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, thus because both fighters could not continue he ruled "No Contest".

Maynard protested the referee's decision immediately after the fight, stating that he was not ever knocked out. After the fight doctors confirmed that he did not have a concussion, which is not necessarily evidence that he was never knocked unconscious during the fight, although it is worth noting that nearly every knockout results in a concussion. [cite web
url=http://sports.yahoo.com/box/news;_ylt=AkdY6614qcSH.HmqRSO1_sOUxLYF?slug=ki-ufcnotes062307&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
title=Notes: Maynard beats himself
last=Iole
first=Kevin
publisher=Yahoo! Sports
date=June 23, 2007
accessdate=2007-07-07]

UFC

In his next fight he took on Joe Veres at the UFC Fight Night 11 and knocked him out with the first punch after nine seconds. It was the second fastest knockout in UFC history. In his most recent fight, he took on Frank Edgar and won a 30-27 unanimous decision on all cards. He used his superior wrestling and pushed the pace to take the fight to the previously undefeated Edgar, winning a decision.

He also worked as an assistant wrestling coach for Forrest Griffin as part of .

MMA record

References

External links

* [http://www.theultimatefighter.tv/bios/maynard.html The Ultimate Fighter 5 Bio]
*Sherdog|id=15835|name=Gray Maynard