When the Ultimate Fighting Championship once again makes it onto the FX network, the lighter fighters will be showcased. In the main event, Gray Maynard will look to get back into the hunt for a shot at the UFC lightweight title when he takes on another top contender, Clay Guida. Also on the card will be fights between Sam Stout and Spencer Fisher, Cub Swanson and Ross Pearson and Brian Ebersole and T.J. Waldburger. What do the odds makers think will happen when these fights are completed on June 22?
Gray Maynard -340 vs. Clay Guida +280
Maynard is one of the top fighters to make it big in the UFC from The Ultimate Fighter despite not winning the show (see "Top Fighters that Didn't Win TUF" below). The 32-year-old holds a 10-1-1-1 NC professional record and prior to losing to Frankie Edgar in October 2011 had gone unbeaten in his first 12 career fights.
Guida is one of the most popular fighters in the lightweight division and was very close to competing for the title. Heading into his last fight with Ben Henderson in November, Guida was a win away from fighting for the title. Instead, he struggled for 15 minutes and lost the decision to Henderson, but will be looking to climb back up in the rankings against Maynard.
Nobody has given Maynard any trouble inside the Octagon aside from Edgar, so I think he continues to control the rest of the division.
Sam Stout -310 vs. Spencer Fisher +255
These two men fought once before at UFC Fight Night 10 in June 2007 with Fisher coming out victorious with the unanimous decision. Since that fight, Stout has gone 6-4 with huge victories against Matt Wiman, Joe Lauzon and Yves Edwards. In his last fight, he was defeated by Thiago Tavares by unanimous decision, ruining his plans of moving up in the lightweight division rankings.
Since getting the victory against Stout, Fisher has gone in the opposite direction with a 5-5 record. In his last fight, he also lost to Tavares (TKO, second round) and has struggled against many of the top challengers he has fought, including Edgar, Dennis Siver and Pearson.
Stout was a different fighter when he lost to Fisher five years ago and has improved drastically as Fisher has struggled. Stout should get the easy win in this fight.
Other odds:
Ross Pearson -200 vs. Cub Swanson +170
Brian Ebersole -260 vs. T.J. Waldburger +200
For a look at the best fights for some of the most popular fighters in the UFC and 2011 division recaps, go here.
More from this contributor:
How Good will Hector Lombard be in UFC?
Kenny Florian Announces Retirement from MMA
Complete List of "The Ultimate Fighter" Winners
Top Fighters that Didn't Win TUF
What if Brock Lesnar Returned to UFC?
Hobson Lopes has been a fan of mixed martial arts since the days of Tank Abbott and can be followed on Twitter @HobsonLopes.
