This coming UFC Fight Night scheduled for August 16th in Bangor, Maine is due or die time for ‘The Bully’ Gray Maynard. Maynard heads into his fight with Fabricio Camoes favored at (-280), with the return on Camoes at (+240).
On January 1st, 2o11, Maynard had parlayed a solid appearance on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ and a successful run that included wins over Kenny Florian and Nick Diaz into a title shot against Lightweight Titlist Frankie Edgar. On that night, he came within a hair of bludgeoning Edgar and winning the title in the opening round. Edgar steadily worked his way back in the five rounder, and the eventual result was a draw. Since then, things have not been the same at all for Gray Maynard.
Maynard lost the tough rematch with Edgar, succumbing in the 4th round to punches, then he won a bore-fest against Clay Guida before losing to TJ Grant and Nate Diaz.
One more loss should lead o the 34 year old’s pink slip. His 35 year old opponent Camoes has also dropped two in a row, so the most likely outcome is that the loser is cut from the UFC roster. Camoes is a journey man type, but he has a long resume that includes fighting Anderson Silva for 25 minutes straight in his second career fight, so if he realizes his back is against the wall he may come out with some fire and be very dangerous.
Maynard needs a big win with a definitive finish. The match with Guida was a travesty, and if that occurs again, the best thing that could happen is for the UFC to let both men go. Maynard cannot put together a half assed performance.
Maynard must be well aware of how far his star has fallen, but that may have also let do a lot of self doubt. Two straight first round KO losses could add to that, as well as the fact that at just 15 total career fights at 34 years old, he may never have gotten the full immersion into the sport that is necessary to maintain success. The early success saw his name skyrocket, but he hasnt met expectations in a long time. This could be the last match for in the UFC for Gray Maynard.
