• TUF 13 Finale

Guida tornado rips through Pettis' title ambitions

Anthony Pettis could not keep the fight standing © Getty Images

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Anthony Pettis' UFC debut turned into a nightmare at the TUF 13 Finale as Clay Guida dragged him out of the No. 1 contender slot in the lightweight division.

Pettis knew he was taking a risk. As the last reigning WEC lightweight champion, he knew he was next in line for a crack at the winner of Frankie Edgar v Gray Maynard. But the youngster wanted to fight, and that enthusiasm backfired as Guida rail-roaded him for a unanimous 30-27 victory.

Pettis is tipped as a star of the future, a 24-year-old who had previously lost only one of 14 fights, boasting a third degree taekwondo black belt and an extremely aggressive ground game. His Showtime Kick against Ben Henderson made him an internet sensation as well as a genuine title contender, but he found himself in the line of a Clay Guida tornado.

Guida came out bouncing around, never staying still for a second, and when Pettis threw a kick he caught it to implement the takedown. The rest of the first round was a fascinating chess match on the floor, with Pettis controlling a wrist and searching for triangles, but Guida was the man in control.

Pettis began to display his outstanding range of striking when he threw a 360 degree spinning back kick, but he could not defend the takedown as Guida spent 90 per cent of every round in top position. Only once did Pettis come close to finding a submission, grabbing an armbar, but Guida survived at the end of the second.

He even set up a takedown in the third with a big overhand right and, despite being swept and mounted by Pettis late on, he showed his own jiu-jitsu capabilities to slide out and confirm victory.

"That guy hits hard from the bottom, he kicked me in the head and I thought I was fighting Diego [Sanchez] again!" said Guida. "I showed you what wrestling is all about, I showed I'm the No. 1 contender, and if you guys want to see the most exciting lightweight fight in the world, put me in the ring Joe Silva and Dana White.

"You guys know it's coming, lightweight division 2011 look out, it's my year."

TUF 13 Finale results
Tony Ferguson bt Ramsey Nijem via KO at 3.54 of round 1
Clay Guida bt Anthony Pettis via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Ed Herman bt Tim Credeur via TKO at 0:48 of round 1
Kyle Kingsbury bt Fabio Maldonado via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Chris Cope bt Chuck O'Neil via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Scott Jorgensen bt Ken Stone via KO at 4:01 of round 1
Shamar Bailey bt Ryan McGillivray via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jeremy Stephens bt Danny Downes via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
George Roop bt Josh Grispi Roop via TKO (body punch) at 3:14 of round 3
Clay Harvison bt Justin Edwards via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Reuben Duran bt Francisco Rivera via rear naked choke at 1:57 of round 3

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