Gray Maynard doesn’t believe Benson Henderson is the best Lightweight

Gray Maynard just happened to be a guest on this Monday’s edition of the MMA Hour, and had a few interesting things to say. First off he claims that after calling out Anthony Pettis, not getting him and then getting matched up with his new opponent in TJ Grant, he wasn’t exatly the most motivated he’s ever been.

Well that was until the moment when Dana White announced that the winner of the match would be the number 1 contender and given a title shot. Here’s Maynard comments on the situation and how it unfolded:

“I thought it could be [an important fight], yeah, because we asked for Anthony Pettis and then he dropped down. And then they offered [Grant] and I thought that he was a top guy too, so we took it and we kind of knew it would be one of those types of fights. Halfway through the camp, you get a little bit down, a little slowed up. But [announcing it was a No. 1 contender fight] was a kick in the ass, so I was pumped.”

Since the announcement however, White has been hit with some criticism on the decision to make Grant/Maynard a contenders bout, however the former title contender refused to be fazed or affected by any of the comments from fans and media simply stating:

“There’s a lot of people out there, so there’s a lot of people that like Josh, Gilbert, me, and they’re just, that’s what they say. I don’t know what to say to that. I just do what the boss tells me to and I believe I’ve been a top guy. I believe I’ve beaten the champ, but it was a draw, and I slipped up a little bit. Just trying to get back to that belt. There’s no clear guy, though. I think Anthony [Pettis], he was. I called him out, I asked to have him, and then he dropped down. But basically after that, who else? Who else is a clear guy?”

As far as his upcoming opponent, Maynard doesn’t seem to be fearing anything that he brings to the table:

“I’m impressed to the point where it gets me up everyday to train hard as hell to beat him. That’s all I need,” said Maynard. “I don’t fear anything anyone brings to the table. But there’s a couple things that I’m aware of.I don’t want to go into great detail about it. He’s a tough kid, doesn’t have a lot of huge holes, but there’s a couple small technical holes that we’re trying to exploit.”

As far as the current champion however, while Maybard certainly has respect for th champion he simply doesn’t consider him the best in the division:

“He’s not. He’s good though. He is good. Tough to beat. He’s that guy that’s hard to beat, but not the best. I think he has three bouts that could’ve gone either/or, that were very close. And to be honest I scored three of them to the other guy — the two Edgar’s and Gil. But it could’ve gone either way.”