Clay Guida

Clayton Guida
Clayton Guida
Born	Clayton Charles Guida; December 8, 1981 (age 44); Round Lake, Illinois, United States
Occupation	Mixed martial artist
Years active	2003–2025
Known for	First Strikeforce Lightweight Champion; UFC competitor with multiple Fight of the Night awards; UFC Hall of Fame inductee (Fight wing, 2019)

Clayton Charles Guida (; born December 8, 1981) is a professional American MMA competitor primarily active in the UFC's Lightweight category. Since beginning his career in 2003, Guida has also competed in organizations such as Strikeforce, WEC, King of the Cage, and Shooto. He holds the distinction of being the first-ever Strikeforce Lightweight Champion.

Background

Guida was born and grew up in Round Lake, Illinois within an Italian-American household. He started wrestling at the age of five and was a multi-sport athlete during his time at Johnsburg High School. Later, he continued wrestling at Harper College, competing at 149 pounds. Clayton is the younger sibling of fellow MMA fighter Jason Guida.

Early career

Beginning his professional journey in 2003, Guida initially amassed a 3–3 record before embarking on a 15-fight winning streak. After experiencing a submission defeat at a King of the Cage event in 2006, he signed with Strikeforce, where he captured the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship by defeating Josh Thomson. Subsequent losses to Gilbert Melendez and an overseas bout in Japan preceded his transition to WEC, where he started with a unanimous decision victory. Holding a record of 20–6, Guida was eventually recruited by the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Guida secured a submission win in his UFC debut against Justin James at UFC 64, earning the Submission of the Night accolade. Despite suffering unanimous and split decision losses to Din Thomas and Tyson Griffin respectively—both fights awarded Fight of the Night honors—he rebounded with wins over seasoned fighters such as Marcus Aurélio. His notable encounters include a submission defeat to Roger Huerta at The Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale and victories over opponents like Samy Schiavo, Mac Danzig, and Nate Diaz, accumulating several Fight of the Night awards along the way.

The bout between Guida and Diego Sanchez at The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom Finale is celebrated as one of UFC’s most memorable fights and was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2019.

Despite increasing recognition, Guida was omitted from the UFC 2009 Undisputed video game roster due to his long hair; Dana White offered him $10,000 to cut it, which Guida refused.

Key fights include losses against Kenny Florian (UFC 107), a victory via arm-triangle choke over Shannon Gugerty (who replaced Sean Sherk), defeats by Rafael dos Anjos (UFC 117), Takanori Gomi (UFC 125), and Anthony Pettis (The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale). A closely contested decision loss to Benson Henderson at UFC on Fox 1 also earned him another Fight of the Night bonus.

In 2013, Guida dropped to featherweight, claiming a split decision win over Hatsu Hioki at UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Dodson but later withdrew from an initially scheduled fight against Chad Mendes due to injury. At UFC 164, he endured his first TKO loss, falling to Mendes.

Guida earned Fight of the Night honors after defeating Tatsuya Kawajiri at UFC Fight Night 39 but subsequently lost by submission to Dennis Bermudez at UFC on Fox 12. Following bouts included a unanimous decision win over Robbie Peralta (UFC Fight Night 63), a first-round submission loss to Thiago Tavares (UFC Fight Night 77), and a knockout defeat by Brian Ortega at UFC 199.

He bounced back with victories against Erik Koch (UFC Fight Night: Chiesa vs. Lee) and Joe Lauzon (UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Pettis). Although scheduled to face Bobby Green at UFC 225, Guida instead fought Charles Oliveira, losing via first-round submission.

At UFC 237, Guida achieved a unanimous decision victory over former two-division champion B.J. Penn. His legendary fight versus Diego Sanchez was formally inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in July 2019.

Later stages of his career featured losses to Jim Miller (technical submission), Bobby Green (unanimous decision), and Mark Madsen (split decision). He secured a unanimous decision win against Michael Johnson at UFC Fight Night 184 and earned Performance of the Night for submitting Leonardo Santos at UFC on ESPN: Font vs. Aldo.

Recent matchups include defeats by Claudio Puelles (kneebar submission), Rafa García (unanimous decision), Joaquim Silva (unanimous decision), and Chase Hooper (armbar submission) at UFC 310, equaling Jeremy Stephens' record for most UFC losses with nineteen.

On January 16, 2025, after an eighteen-year tenure, Guida was released from the UFC roster.

Other Combat Disciplines

Guida achieved a unanimous decision victory against Billy Quarantillo in a submission grappling contest at Fury Pro Grappling 3 on December 30, 2021. He made a comeback to wrestling at the 2022 US Open, competing alongside his teammate Urijah Faber. On May 28, 2022, Guida secured a submission win over Brad Boulton via arm-triangle choke during the co-main event of Fury Pro Grappling 4. Later that year, on December 30, he faced UFC competitor Chase Hooper at Fury Pro Grappling 6 but was submitted with a calf slicer.

Endorsements

In April 2011, Guida appeared in a nationwide commercial for SafeAuto Insurance, which was filmed in Columbus, Ohio. He serves as a representative for the SafeAuto Fight Team and is managed by VFD Sports Marketing, an agency focused on representing UFC athletes.

Personal Interests

Guida is an enthusiastic supporter of the Chicago Bears and Chicago Cubs. Additionally, he is a devoted follower of the Grateful Dead, having attended the GD50 reunion concerts.

Titles and Honors

Strikeforce
- First-ever Strikeforce Lightweight Championship titleholder (one-time champion)
Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame (Fight wing, Class of 2019) for his match against Diego Sanchez
- Recipient of six Fight of the Night awards, including bouts with notable fighters such as Tyson Griffin, Roger Huerta, and Benson Henderson
- Earned one Performance of the Night bonus (vs. Leonardo Santos)
- Honored three times with Submission of the Night
- Ranks fourth all-time in UFC for total fights (37) and second for Lightweight division bouts (30)
- Holds fourth place in UFC history for takedowns completed (78), second within Lightweight division (65)
- Placed sixth overall for cumulative fight time in UFC history (7:03:17), second within Lightweight division (5:44:31)
- Leads UFC Lightweight category in control time (2:06:34), and is second overall across all divisions (2:36:28)
- Possesses records for top position duration and total strikes landed within Lightweight division
- Ranks fifth for decision matches in UFC history (20); tied for most split decision defeats (4) and shares third-most split decision victories (4)
- Shares record for most split decision contests in UFC history (8)
- Tied for highest number of losses in UFC history (19)
UFC.com Awards
- 2007 Fight of the Year vs. Roger Huerta; also ranked #10 Fight of the Year vs. Tyson Griffin
- 2009 Fight of the Year vs. Diego Sanchez
- 2011 Ranked #3 Fight of the Year vs. Benson Henderson
- 2021 Ranked #8 Submission of the Year vs. Leonardo Santos
FIGHT! Magazine
- Awarded Fight of the Year in 2007 for bout vs. Roger Huerta
World MMA Awards
- Received 2009 Fight of the Year honors for match against Diego Sanchez at The Ultimate Fighter Finale
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Named Fight of the Year in 2009 versus Diego Sanchez
Tequila CAZADORES Spirit Award
- Two-time honoree recognizing his fighting spirit and strong fan engagement

Mixed Martial Arts Record

| align=center | 19–5 
| Gilbert Melendez 
| Decision (split) 
| Strikeforce: Revenge 
|  
| align=center | 5 
| align=center | 5:00 
| San Jose, California, United States 
|

|- |- Win

| align=center | 18–3 
| Joe Jordan 
| Decision (unanimous) 
| Xtreme Fighting Organization 8 
|  
| align=center | 3 
| align=center | 5:00 
| Lakemoor, Illinois, United States

|- Win

| align=center | 12–3 
| Alonzo Martinez 
| Submission (arm-triangle choke) 
|rowspan=2 | Xtreme Kage Kombat: Des Moines 
|rowspan=2 |  
| align=center | 3 
| align=center | 3:22 
|rowspan=2 | Des Moines, Iowa, United States 
|