Rafa Garcia Outboxes Clay Guida

Perhaps reasoning that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Rafa Garcia
used a rinse-and-repeat approach to sweep all three rounds against
the ageless Clay Guida at

UFC on ESPN 44.

Garcia (15-3) leaned heavily on his jab, punctuated by a few
judiciously applied low kicks and right crosses, to frustrate Guida
(38-23) in the UFC Kansas City main card opener. Guida, newly shorn
of his trademark locks, was his usual self on the feet, bobbing and
weaving while looking to bounce into range and land hooks, but his
usual ground assault was nowhere to be seen, especially in Round 1,
when he did not attempt a single takedown.

Garcia took the fight “The Carpenter” gave him, nearly doubling his
previous personal best in terms of strikes landed and leaving
Guida’s face bloodied and swollen by the end. After three rounds,
Garcia took the unanimous decision, sweeping all three rounds on
the scorecards, and the lone moment of suspense came when Guida
pulled off his gloves in the cage, only to spring a “gotcha” in his
interview and proclaim that he was not, in fact, retiring.

The win elevated Garcia’s Octagon mark to 4-3; the 40-year-old
Guida fell to 18-17 in the promotion.