UFC Lightweight Staple Clay Guida Plans Drop to 145 Pounds, Eyes Featherweight Title

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Clay Guida's career as a UFC lightweight is coming to a close.

The fighter's representation at VFD Sports Marketing announced Friday that “The Carpenter” will make the cut to featherweight for his next Octagon appearance. A date for Guida's featherweight debut was not revealed.

"It will be nice to finally be one of the bigger guys in the cage,” Guida said in the official release. “I don't cut weight at 155 [pounds], and making 145 will be no problem for me. My fans will get to see 'The Dude' put some royal beatings on everyone in the division. I will not be satisfied until the featherweight belt is mine.”

Guida, 30, began his UFC career in 2006 and competed 16 times for the promotion as a lightweight, racking up notable victories over Nate Diaz, Takanori Gomi, Rafael dos Anjos and Anthony Pettis, among others. Prior to joining the UFC, Guida captured the Strikeforce lightweight title from Josh Thomson, only to lose the strap via split decision to Gilbert Melendez three months later at Strikeforce “Revenge.”

A Jackson's MMA representative, Guida was dealt a pair of defeats in his most recent outings, as he was outpointed by current UFC champion Benson Henderson last November at UFC on Fox 1 before dropping a lackluster split decision to Gray Maynard on June 22 at UFC on FX 4. Known for his excellent conditioning and relentless movement in addition to his wrestling abilities, Guida has finished 15 of his 29 career victims by submission and has never been knocked out.