Gray Maynard tells us about his upcoming fight with Kenny Florian, his training camp, and his thoughts on the newly crowned Frankie Edgar.
Aug 13, 2010 - Just weeks away from the biggest test of his career, Gray Maynard looks to establish himself as the No. 1 contender in the UFC's lightweight division. He meets Kenny Florian on August 28th in Boston for UFC 118, a two-time former challenger who will be looking to do anything he can to get another shot at the belt. Needless to say, both men will be all eyes for the night's main event, a rematch between BJ Penn and current champ Frankie Edgar.
We all know Kenny is big on footwork, and he really showed it off in the Huerta fight. Are you working on anything to try to disrupt his pacing, keeping him from getting into a rhythm?
Yea, for sure. I haven't seen him really create any angles, but he's great at going in and out. He's either coming in or moving back. We're trying to work off of that.
Can you talk a bit about how you plan on engaging with him? I would think he would want to try to avoid getting too close with your power, so how are you planning on drawing him in?
Yea, just working on closing the gap. Against a lefty, its always a little bit slower. I've had four in a row, now again with him. You learn that it takes time. It's a little bit slower, but you just have to stick with the gameplan.
Where is the ideal place for this fight to end up? Do you want a stand up war? Or more of a wrestling/grappling match?
I'm comfortable anywhere it goes, to be honest with you. He throws some stuff, some crazy stuff. A bunch of elbows that I really have to be careful of. If I get cut? It happens. It's a cut. It's a three round fight, so I don't think it'll be a huge deal. If it happens, it happens, but either way, it's still a fight. I'll still have all that time to work my gameplan.
If you end up being able to consistently establish some good takedows, will you be a little more willing to sit in his guard and try to avoid the elbows? Or are you going to look to pass to side control and mount?
If I can hang in his guard? That's always nice, no matter who you're fighting. Usually they won't let you do that, just because it means they're getting their ass whooped. Whatever he does, I'm perfectly content with. I'll have an answer for it.
How has the fact that Randy is fighting on the same card affected your preparation for this fight? Has it split any resources with how available training partners are?
Randy's pretty big, so he pretty much took everyone 200lbs and over. I just took everyone who was 180lbs or less. It's been great. He's always there to help with the gameplanning and everything. Gil Martinez is my boxing coach, Neil Melanson for BJJ, and also Ray Sefo. I've had to fight a lefty, with good BJJ, and a good sprawl, pretty much the last four camps, so nothing has really changed much. I've had Nate Diaz, Huerta, Miller, and Clementi, so they're pretty much all equal. Not exactly equal, but that's pretty much the kind of camp we have going for Florian.
Aside from guys like Tyson Griffin, who have been some guys who have come in to help with the camp?
I've had Olympic silver medalist Jamil Kelly, Evan Dunham, and Joey Varner all in to help me out. LC Davis as well. We've got a bunch of good guys. My boxing coach's son Anthony Martinez has also been in. He's going to be fighting on a Golden Boy card coming up soon. It's just a gym that has so many options. I've got it all. I'm very fortunate.
What are your thoughts on Frankie Edgar? You've said that you thought you handled him pretty easily. Is it encouraging to see him wearing the belt now? Or does it discourage you knowing that you beat him?
It doesn't discourage me at all. It's kind of like 'wow.' I whooped his ass, and now he has the belt. He was prepared to jump into camp and I needed to have a knee scoped. I had to have some things done, and he got a chance. Give me that opportunity, and I'll have that belt around my waist too.
You actually spent a few weeks training with BJ Penn a few years back, so how do you think you would stack up with him?
Of course, I always think I would do well, but it's not even there yet. I need to take care of Florian first before that even pops up in my head. That's all I care about. It's all Florian right now. Whoever has the belt, that's who I want to fight. But for right now, all I want is Florian.
Does it put any added pressure on you that this fight with Florian will likely decide who gets the next title shot?
I haven't heard anything yet, but I hope it is. It's really just added motivation for me. I can't wait for the fight. It's going to be good.
Gray Maynard training with Jamil Kelly (via GrayBullyMaynard)
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