UFC 118 - Gray Maynard Becomes the Number One Contender With a Win Over Kenny Florian

Kenny Florian was outwrestled in this fight just the same as he was outwrestled by Sean Sherk at UFC 64. He couldn't stop the takedown once his back was against the fence and Maynard did what he does by controlling Florian and decisively picking up the win. Florian came out in the southpaw with a very low stance. He knew that Gray would want the takedown. The first round was very slow with a lot of feints by both guys. Maynard grabbed the double and completed the takedown to steal the round. He didn't do much on top but that was enough.

Florian took the center to start the second round. Gray was doing a lot of circling. Neither guy wanted to make a mistake and both guys were very patient in their attack. They were so tentative that the crowd was getting restless and booing even with Florian being in there. As soon as Maynard got Florain backed up against the cage he grabbed another takedown and found his way to side control. He was clear that Ken-Flo was too small for The Bully and he couldn't do anything from the bottom. The round ended with Maynard on top and Florian needed a big third round.

Kenny came out and took the center of the cage but surprisingly didn't show any sense of urgency. Despite the situation he was largely doing the same thing he did to start the fight. A lot of feints with the occasional head kick. He even threw a spinning back kick that didn't land. Once Gray inevitably shot for the takedown Kenny pulled guard to look for the submission but Maynard's top control game was just too much. It was not a great fight by any stretch of the imagination but without a doubt Gray Maynard cemented himself as the top contender for the Lightweight title.