- Clay Guida “tricked” everybody by acting like he was about to retire after UFC Kansas loss to Rafa Garcia
- UFC president Dana White did not appreciate the 41-year-old’s gimmick
Clay Guida suffered a unanimous decision loss to Rafa Garcia at UFC Kansas City and took his gloves off after the fight, strongly suggesting that he is ready to call it a career. It would’ve been monumental, considering “The Carpenter” has been with the UFC since 2006. However, Guida said that he just “tricked” everybody and he’s not walking away anytime soon, something that didn’t sit well with Dana White.
Clay really had us in the first half 😮💨 #UFCKansasCity pic.twitter.com/g6fuTwkaAb
— UFC (@ufc) April 16, 2023
Not pleasing at all
Speaking to reporters in his UFC Kansas City post-fight presser, the UFC boss lashed out at Guida’s act and pointed out that he wasn’t pleased with what the veteran lightweight pulled off just to get an Octagon interview to greet his mother a happy birthday.
“That pissed me off, actually. That pissed me off. I like him. He’s a nice guy. But you faking your retirement so you can say f*cking happy birthday to somebody? We’re running a live event here. I was not happy about that… Yeah, that was not good,” White exclaimed.
It will only be a matter of time
Prior to the loss to Garcia, Guida managed to slip away with a split decision win over Scott Holtzman at UFC Orlando. After the win, Guida said that despite his age, retirement is not yet an option.
While it’s plain to see that “The Carpenter” will be sticking around a little longer, retirement will be knocking at his door sooner rather later. At 41 years old, Guida still has something left in his tank but it is more likely that he is only a couple of fights from calling it quits.
Guida made his debut in the UFC as a featherweight in October 2006 when he submitted Justin James at UFC 64. He went on to score notable wins over the biggest names in the sport such as Nate Diaz, Rafael Dos Anjos and Anthony Pettis, among others. In 2017, Guida moved to lightweight and also beat a couple of top guys in the division, including B.J. Penn, Joe Lauzon and Michael Johnson.
As it stands, Guida holds a pro MMA record of 38-23.
