It wasn’t a sure thing, but Mark O. Madsen kept his record flawless with a split decision victory over Clay Guida at UFC Vegas 34.
It’s a story that writes itself in combat sports: the grizzled veteran versus the fresh faced up-and-comer. And it was on display once again in the UFC Vegas 34 co-main event on Saturday.
Sure, maybe Mark O. Madsen, at age 36, isn’t exactly “fresh faced” in terms of years. But in fight miles, the Olympian could still be considered a prospect. And Clay Guida? The carpenter was absolutely a veteran, one already in the Hall of Fame in the fight wing thanks to his classic with Diego Sanchez.
Guida started the fight with his patented jittery movement, but ate a jab from Madsen. Guida fired a series of hooks, with one sneaking through, then Madsen clinched up. He couldn’t bring the fight to the ground and ate an uppercut from Guida along the fence. Another clinch effort didn’t go anywhere for Madsen, however, he was able to land an overhand right and a couple of jabs. Another lunging overhand right connected for Madsen, who then clinched up yet couldn’t contain the active Guida. A leg kick slowed Guida down for a moment as Madsen was able to land a jab soon after. The round came then came to a close.
Guida was bouncing around again to start the second round and avoided a takedown shot from the Olympic silver medalist. Madsen started going to the leg kicks in the second round in an attempt to slow Guida down. Neither fighter was truly pulling away in the fight, but Madsen’s jab was consistently landing on the moving target of Guida.
The third round was more of the same as Madsen continued to find a home for his jab. He effectively stopped looking to wrestle in the final round, simply planting his feet in the middle of the cage and landing jabs on the bounding Guida. A clinch attempt for Madsen with 10 seconds left went nowhere but he did take home the victory.
Mark O. Madsen def. Clay Guida by Split Decision (29-28 x2, 28-29)
