Fight With Joe Lauzon Made Sense To Gray Maynard

Source: UFC

Former UFC lightweight contender Gray Maynard solidified his position in the 155-pound pecking order by scoring a decision victory over Clay Guida earlier this year. Now, Maynard will attempt to close out 2012 with another win, this time over Joe Lauzon, when the two meet in December.

Maynard had a pair of chances at securing the UFC lightweight title, but Frankie Edgar kept the belt both times. Lauzon, a bonus machine for the UFC, will be looking for a signature win over "The Bully" to put himself in the eyes of a contending role.

"Lauzon is saying he asked for this fight, and it's funny, because we made the call for it, too," said Maynard, in a recent interview with UFC.com. "It's a fight that makes sense for what is going on in the division, so let's do this. I guess he's a little better with the PR side of things and felt he needed to get to work on that early. It doesn't really matter to me. We have to fight and I'll fight that dude anywhere."

The two are expected to meet at UFC 155, which will feature Junior dos Santos defending his UFC heavyweight title against Cain Velasquez in the main event.

Maynard has been in the spotlight before, while he believes Lauzon collapses when he reaches this spot, saying, "This is a big step up for him and every time he's had an opportunity like this, it hasn't worked out too well. We're going to scrap, and when it's all said and done, one of us will be closer to a title shot."

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