UFC: Guida blocks Pettis’ lightweight title shot

Clay Guida ground out a unanimous decision over Anthony Pettis on “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 13 Finale card at the Palms to open the floodgates for several contenders to lobby for a shot at the belt.

Also, Tony Ferguson captured the “TUF” season title with a first-round knockout of Ramsey Nijem in a battle of welterweights.

The 27-year-old secured a six-figure UFC contract with a left hook to Nijem’s chin that sent him wobbling to the mat near the end of a tightly contested opening round.

In the lightweight bout, Guida executed his game plan to perfection to win his fourth straight fight.

He constantly moved on his feet to stay away from Pettis’ power and athleticism and took him down in each round.

“We knew grappling was going to be the key,” Guida said. “He’s one of the most imaginative strikers in the lightweight division, but we caught him in the exchanges.

“His hands were up, and we were able to shoot in and take him down.”

Pettis flashed an active guard, landing strikes and trying several submission attempts, but didn’t finish.

“I feel I had some holes in my game,” Pettis said. “Clay Guida and (trainer) Greg Jackson did a good job of coming up with a game plan. It’s back to the drawing board.”

Pettis might have earned a title shot with a win. He thought he already had secured that opportunity but decided to fight Guida rather than wait for a rematch between Gray Maynard and champion Frankie Edgar, who both are injured — further holding up the proceedings.

Guida’s victory puts him in a mix with several other lightweights including Jim Miller and Melvin Guillard, who each has fights coming up.

Guida stated his case after the win.

“I didn’t want to see it go to the judges. Obviously a dominant victory with a finish would have looked more (impressive) in the eyes of the guys who pick the fights,” he said. “Jim Miller could be the front-runner, but everybody who’s seen me knows I’ve fought the best guys in the division. I’ve paid my dues.”

Ferguson admitted that he was rattled a few times by early shots from Nijem, but he reverted to his days playing high school football in Michigan.

“You get rattled, and then you just have to shake it out and come up with the next play,” he said. “I headhunted. I remember my coach saying throw that hook out there, and that’s what I did.”

Light heavyweights Kyle Kingsbury and Fabio Maldonado stole the show with a back-and-forth slugfest that left both fighters battered and bloody.

Kingsbury escaped with a win by unanimous decision after doing enough damage in each of the first two rounds, mostly with his knees, to earn the favor of all three judges.

In a middleweight matchup between fighters who each had been out for nearly two years, Ed Herman knocked out Tim Credeur in less than a minute.

Herman, who had two knee operations in the past 20 months, grabbed hold of Credeur’s head and landed two right uppercuts to send him sprawling to the mat. He quickly followed him down, and the fight was stopped as he began to land short rights on the mat 48 seconds into the fight.

Chris Cope opened the main card with a unanimous decision over Chuck O’Neil.

On the undercard, Shamar Bailey and Jeremy Stephens each won convincing unanimous decisions. Clay Harvison was awarded a split decision in a tight fight against Justin Edwards.

Scott Jorgensen knocked out Ken Stone with a huge right hand on the ground, and George Roop finished Josh Grispi with a body punch.

Reuben Duran had the only submission of the night, choking out Francisco Rivera in the opening bout.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509.