roger huerta

There is no such thing as a boring Clay Guida fight. This time, he came within seconds of ending the UFC undefeated streak of "El Matador" Roger Huerta for the biggest win of his career -- on Guida's birthday, no less.

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It was not to be. Huerta came back from the brink of defeat to submit Guida in the third round of their main event fight on Saturday's finale of The Ultimate Fighter 6.

Huerta (20-1-1, 6-0 UFC) threw several head kicks in the first round that did not connect. Guida seemed content to fight Huerta standing, and established early that he could take Huerta to the mat at will. Huerta landed a knee from a crouching position, which Guida answered while Huerta had one knee planted on the mat. Knees to a downed opponent are illegal, however, and Huerta was considered down because his knee was planted on the canvas.

Referee John McCarthy warned Guida and separated the fighters briefly. The round ended with the fighters reversing position several times on the mat, and Guida at one point taking Huerta's back in a rear naked choke attempt.

Guida (22-9, 2-3 UFC) dominated the second round both grappling and striking, with Huerta landing some solid shots but Guida actually knocking Huerta to the mat with a right hand as the round drew to a close. Guida attacked from the top with strikes, while Huerta hung on to barely survive the round.

Apparently, that's all it took to wake Huerta up.

Huerta rocked Guida with a knee to the face on a takedown attempt as Round 3 began and pummeled him with strikes. A staggered Guida sunk to the mat with a takedown attempt, but didn't have enough behind it. Huerta took his back, and moments later, a rear naked choke earned Huerta the victory via tapout.

"Clay is a really, really tough dude," Huerta said after the fight.

Huerta has won all six of his fights in the UFC, and caps off a 2007 that saw him become the first MMA fighter in history to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated and the UFC market him heavily to Hispanic fight fans.

As for Guida, his tough luck continues. "The Carpenter" has earned himself plenty of fans with his enthusiasm and his all-out style of fighting. The loss to Huerta takes his record below .500 in the UFC, but he has yet to be thoroughly dominated despite facing very good competition. With a break here or there, Guida could easily be 4-1 rather than 2-3 in the UFC.

"I thought I had the first couple of rounds, and then he came back," Guida said. "He's got a lot of heart."

The Huerta-Guida fight marked the end of an era in the UFC, as legendary referee McCarthy worked in the Octagon for the last time. "Big John" is retiring from refereeing to pursue a career with a media outlet.

McCarthy's famous line "Let's get it on!" signaled the start of countless UFC fights dating back to the very beginning of the promotion in the early 1990s. McCarthy is one of the most recognizable faces in the sport, despite not being a fighter.
Roger Huerta
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Roger Huerta
Statistics
Nickname El Matador
Height 5' 9" (175 cm)
Weight 155 lb (70 kg)
Nationality American
Born May 20, 1983 (1983-05-20) (age 24)
Fighting out of Minneapolis, Minnesota
Town of birth Los Angeles, California
Fighting style Greco-Roman wrestling, Kickboxing
Mixed martial arts record
Wins 20
Losses 1
Draws 1
No contests 1
Roger Huerta (born May 20, 1983 in Los Angeles, California), nicknamed "El Matador", is a Mexican American mixed martial artist. He competes in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Huerta holds a professional MMA record of 20 wins, 1 loss, and 1 draw.[1]

Huerta was originally slated to make his UFC debut against Hermes Franca at UFC 61, but was forced to withdraw from the fight as the result of an elbow injury.[citation needed] Since then he has won all six of his fights in the UFC, the first at UFC 63 against Jason Dent, which was declared "Fight of the Night".[citation needed]

Most recently Huerta defeated Clay Guida in the third round on December, 8, 2007 at The Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale via a rear naked choke.

Huerta's only loss came as a result of a dislocated jaw early in the finals of the SuperBrawl 36 tournament against Ryan Schultz on June 18, 2004, his third match of the day. [2].