UFC Kansas City Results: Rafa Garcia Outboxes Clay Guida

Perhaps reasoning that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Rafa Garcia used a rinse-and-repeat approach to sweep all three rounds against the ageless Clay Guida at UFC on ESPN 44.

Garcia (15-3) leaned heavily on his jab, punctuated by a few judiciously applied low kicks and right crosses, to frustrate Guida (38-23) in the UFC Kansas City main card opener. Guida, newly shorn of his trademark locks, was his usual self on the feet, bobbing and weaving while looking to bounce into range and land hooks, but his usual ground assault was nowhere to be seen, especially in Round 1, when he did not attempt a single takedown.

Garcia took the fight “The Carpenter” gave him, nearly doubling his previous personal best in terms of strikes landed and leaving Guida’s face bloodied and swollen by the end. After three rounds, Garcia took the unanimous decision, sweeping all three rounds on the scorecards, and the lone moment of suspense came when Guida pulled off his gloves in the cage, only to spring a “gotcha” in his interview and proclaim that he was not, in fact, retiring.

The win elevated Garcia’s Octagon mark to 4-3; the 40-year-old Guida fell to 18-17 in the promotion.