It wasn’t the exactly lopsided fight the odds-makers thought it might be. But B.J. Penn’s nine-year victory drought was extended on Saturday night in Rio. Clay Guida used a steady, yet methodical attack to defeat Penn at UFC 237, scoring a unanimous decision victory (29-28, 29-28, 29-27). With the win, Guida has now won three of his last four fights, bouncing back from a loss against Charles Oliveira at UFC 225 nearly a year ago. Guida used a strong right hand to drop Penn in the third round, but the Hawaiian icon was able to persevere to hear the scorecards. Still, the 37-year-old Guida took control in the second round and never looked back. “A lot of people don’t know this, but when he nicknamed the ‘Prodigy,’ he took out my coach Joey Gilbert in both of their debuts, way back in 2002, 2003,” Guida said in his post-fight interview. “And he’s part of the reason I’ve had longevity in this sport. Because if you don’t know Joey Gilbert, he was arguably the best Illinois wrestling champ ever, and one of the baddest dudes to ever walk this planet. So I had to get one back to get one back for all my wrestling community, for Chicago, and for Gilbert Grappling man. “So all our hearts go out to B.J. Can’t thank him [enough] for putting on a show every time. He’s been doing this for almost 20 years, so it’s an honor to compete against somebody like that.” Penn, who last tasted victory at UFC 123 in 2010 against Matt Hughes, has now lost seven fights in a row — a new UFC record — and has gone 1-9-1 since losing the lightweight title against Frankie Edgar at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi.<doc-sep>They said what?! Pros react to Clay Guida’s decision win over BJ Penn at UFC 237 Clay Guida defeated BJ Penn via unanimous decision at UFC 237, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. On Twitter, pro fighters reacted to the fight.<doc-sep>Watch B.J. Penn vs. Clay Guida full fight video highlights from UFC 237’s preliminary fight above, courtesy of UFC. UFC 237 took place April 27 at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. B.J. Penn (16-14-2) took on Clay Guida (35-18) on the undercard, which aired live on ESPN. Catch more video highlights below. For more on Penn vs. Guida, check out the play-by-play courtesy of MMA Fighting’s Danny Segura. Round 1: And the fight is on, B.J. Penn and Clay Guida both take the center of the cage. Guida looking like the quicker fighter right off the bat. Penn with a nice left hook. A lot of faking at the moment. One minutes has passed. Guida partially connects with a head kick. Guida staying on the outside of the Octagon, landing a several good leg kicks. Penn walking down Guida but not landing much. Two minutes left. Oh, nice left hook by Penn, followed by a stiff jab. Penn not looking too bad out there, fairly even fight so far. And nice uppercut by Penn. His punches look to be having some pop. MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9, Penn. Round 2: And we’re off to the second round. Penn walking down Guida just like the first round. Nice left hook lands by Penn. BJ chants break out in the arena. And Guida wobbles Penn with a strong kick to Penn’s lede leg. Guida walking down Penn now. Nice one-two by Penn but he seems to be slowing down. We’re half way through the round. Strong head kick by Guida that’s partially blocked by Penn. Guida now presses Penn against the cage. He lands a decent combination on Penn. Guida working the body now with punches. They break away with one minute left on the clock. Penn looking tired. Nice leg kick by Guida. Solid combination lands for Guida, Penn seems hurt. Guida now presses Penn against the cage and gets a takedown. The bell rings. MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9, Guida. Overall, 19-19 Round 3: Guida starts off hot, pressing Penn with punches that seem to hurt Penn. Guida hunting down Penn. The Hawaiian trying to work the jab but Guida pressing him. Guida landing short shots on Penn as he presses the former champ against the cage. Guida in complete control, grinding out Penn with pressure and short shots. They break away and Guida drops Penn. Penn immediately back up but now pressed against the cage. Two minutes left. Right hand lands hard for Guida. Penn getting battered in dirty boxing against the cage. Huge knee followed by a nice combination for Guida. “The Carpenter” doing agreat job mixing in his clinching and strikes. They break away and Penn tags Guida with a right hand. Nice jab by Penn. The bell rings. MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9, Guida. Overall, 29-28, Guida. Official result: Clay Guida def. B.J. Penn via unanimous decision (29-28 x2, 29-27)<doc-sep>
Dave Doyle MMA Junkie For a round or so, it looked like B.J. Penn might finally get out of the loss column. His striking was crisp early in his UFC 237 lightweight bout with Clay Guida, his timing on point. But Penn (16-14-2 MMA, 12-13-2 UFC), the former UFC welterweight and lightweight champion, wasn't known for his stamina in his best days, so that's certainly not the case at age 40. Guida (35-18 MMA, 15-12 UFC) turned up the heat in the second half of their fight as Penn faded, and that was enough to earn a unanimous decision on scores of 29-28, 29-28, and 29-27. The lightweight bout was part of the UFC 237 prelims from Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro and aired on ESPN. With the loss, Penn now has lost a record seven consecutive UFC fights. He is 1-9-1 in his past 11 and has not earned a victory since knocking out Matt Hughes at UFC 123 in 2010. "He's been doing this almost 20 years, man," Guida said. "It's an honor to compete against someone like that." Penn entered UFC 237 under a cloud of domestic abuse allegations and a police investigation, which he refused to address during fight week. But if he was bothered, he didn't show it in the opening round, utilizing left hands for jabs and uppercuts to keep Guida from doing much of anything. Guida picked up the pace in the second, though, as he started throwing leg kicks that began to add up and mixing in occasional head kicks. Guida went for takedowns that weren't quite there, but it was plain to see Penn was fading. The third round was all Guida as he rocked Penn with aggressive standup for the bulk of the round. It was to Penn's credit that he didn't get finished by Guida's energetic onslaught. "I didn't think I was that close to finishing him, and my stubborn wrestling ego wants to get the takedown all the time," Guida said. Guida now has won three of his past four fights