Clay Guida vows to fight on after ending near two-decade run with the UFC: “The best is yet to come!”

By Josh Evanoff - January 28, 2025

Longtime UFC lightweight contender Clay Guida has no plans to retire.

Clay Guida

‘The Carpenter’ was one of the UFC’s longest-tenured fighters. First debuting in 2006 with a submission win over Justin James, Clay Guida remained a member of the lightweight division for nearly two decades. In that time, the 43-year-old scored wins over names such as Nate Diaz, Rafael dos Anjos, and Anthony Pettis.

However, Clay Guida was released from the company earlier this month. With the exit of the lightweight, Joe Lauzon and Jon Jones are now the two longest-tenured fighters with the company. ‘J-Lau’ debuted the same year as Guida, while ‘Bones’ began fighting under Dana White’s banner in August 2008.

Taking to Instagram earlier this week, Clay Guida made a post about his UFC release. There, the former lightweight title challenger thanked fans, his coaches, and the organization for their support. While Guida is no longer a member of the UFC roster, he’s still appreciative of the nearly two decades he spent with them.

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A post shared by Clay Guida (@clayguida)

Clay Guida releases lengthy statement about career future following UFC release

In a follow-up post, Clay Guida also vowed to fight on. While the lightweight is currently riding a three-fight losing streak, he also believes the best is yet to come. As of now, Guida remains a free agent, but several older ex-UFC stars such as Tony Ferguson have recently signed with the upstart GFL. If there’s a place for the 43-year-old, it could be there.

“We would also like to send an enormous thank you.” Clay Guida wrote on Instagram earlier today. “Thank you to all of the countless, outstanding Teammates I had the honor of training with, and competing alongside. You All taught me so much, that helped me in almost 40 UFC fights!  Even though I made it look sloppier than what you trained me. Haha.”

He continued, “Most of all, I want to thank Our Fans for always supporting the UFC athletes and the GUIDA MAFIA! You give us reason to step into the Octagon and go to battle! This is NOT my retirement. This is simply a Thank You for now, and a passing of my UFC Torch, to the next generation of Warriors and Wrestlers. We were Built to Last! I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again… The Best is yet to Come!”

What do you make of these comments from the former UFC lightweight? Do you want to see Clay Guida continue to compete?

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


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Clay Guida UFC