Gray Maynard Eying Summer Return To The UFC
Former Lightweight title challenger Gray Maynard has fallen on hard times lately; experiencing back-to-back TKO losses for the first time in his career and going without a win since 2012. First round finishes at the hands of Nate Diaz and TJ Grant have put ‘The Bully’ in a difficult position, with many arguing that he should retire before he takes too much damage.
Maynard also suffered a KO loss to Frankie Edgar in their third fight, after dominating the early goings of their UFC 126 title fight. Maynard also had his lights put out in his TUF fight with Rob Emerson, although it was due to a slam by ‘The Bully’ that rendered both men unable to continue en route to a no-contest.
Being knocked out cold four times is not good for the brain, especially when three of those KO’s have come in your last four bouts. Maynard doesn’t seemed too concerned about his physical health, as he does about letting down his fans. He spoke during his recent interview with ‘UFC Tonight’:
Maynard told Helwani that he feels as if he’s “disrespected the UFC, the sport, and himself” with his recent poor performances, and he “hasn’t lived up to his own standards.” Nonetheless, Maynard isn’t done, as he hopes to return to the cage in either May or June.
Standards or not, the way Maynard was stumbling around the cage during his most recent fight was alarming. Diaz had rocked Maynard with punches early on and the onslaught was pretty brutal in all fairness. ‘The Bully’ ended up face down just after two minutes, and it was not a pretty picture for his fans.
It’s very debatable as to when a fighter should retire. Maynard is 11-3-1 (1NC) and has only competed for seven years, but his recent form has been less than average and one more knockout could well be his last. Any thoughts?
