Veteran fighter Clay Guida is ready to step inside the octagon against former Olympic wrestler Mark Madsen in a lightweight matchup at UFC Vegas 34. ‘The Carpenter’ returns to action after a unanimous decision victory against Michael Johnson back in February and is hoping to derail the Olympian’s undefeated streak in the sport of MMA.  

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A formidable wrestler himself, Clay Guida has won many fights in the past thanks to his relentless pressure and pace. Over the years, the veteran has become more efficient at mixing it up, throwing hard and accurate strikes to close the distance and get a hold of his opponents.  

In a recent interview with ESPN MMA, Guida addressed Mark Madsen’s status as an Olympian, making the following statement.

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“Congratulations to Mark Madsen and all of his Olympic accolades, but those aren’t going to save you now, buddy. So if you want to start running, that’s cool, because guess what? I can catch up to you anyway, especially carrying the red, white, and blue. We’re really intrigued about this match-up because we’re not wrestling the silver medalist Mark O Madsen. We’re simply fighting a very inexperienced Mark Madsen, who is a mixed martial artist. And we have probably as many fights as him and his opponents combined in mixed martial arts.” 

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Going into this fight, Guida will hope to keep the fight standing as going to the mat with Madsen could backfire immediately. However, should he get on top of Madsen in a scramble, one can envision him finishing the fight with a submission or some vicious ground and pound.

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Clay Guida: What’s next for the UFC veteran?

A veteran of the sport in every sense of the word, Clay Guida made his UFC debut against Justin James back in 2006 at UFC 64. Now, in just over two months, ‘The Carpenter’ will celebrate fifteen years in the UFC.

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A former Strikeforce Lightweight champion, Guida has been unable to get his hands on UFC gold throughout his career. However, he will go down as one of the most beloved fighters to have ever competed inside the octagon.

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His fight with Diego Sanchez back in 2009 is an outstanding example of the passion and fervor that Guida has brought to every single one of his performances.

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Should Clay Guida get the win over the younger Madsen this weekend, we might just get to witness a few more exciting matchups before he finally retires.

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David Andrew

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David Andrew is a UFC author at EssentiallySports with a background in English Literature from St. Stephens College. Prior to his current role, David, who combines his passion for writing and combat sports, contributed to the MMA divisions at Sportskeeda and The Sportsrush. As a professional MMA writer, he enjoys writing prediction and fight breakdown copies. An ardent combat sports fan, David has been hooked on MMA ever since watching his first fight in 2011, a showdown between Donald Cerrone and Nate Diaz at UFC 141, and hasn't looked back since. A massive Khabib Nurmagomedov fan, David wishes to interview 'The Eagle' in the future. Aside from his professional pursuits, David is an avid musician who spends his time singing, writing songs and playing the guitar and the piano.

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