What Is Clay Guida's Net Worth?
Clay Guida is an American mixed martial artist who has a net worth of $2 million. Clay Guida is sometimes referred to as "The Carpenter," and he has wrestled for Ultimate Fighting Championship in the Lightweight and Featherweight divisions. In 2008, he worked as a stunt performer on the movie "Assassination of a High School President," and the following year he starred in the mixed martial arts exercise video "The Ultimate Workout: Five Rounds with Clay Guida." His first MMA match came in 2003 when he lost to Adam Copenhaver. In 2006, Guida defeated Josh Thomson to become the inaugural Strikeforce Lightweight Championship. In 2013, he made his debut as a Featherweight, defeating Hatsu Hioki, and at one point he was ranked #7 in the official UFC Featherweight rankings. Clay has won the UFC Fight of the Night six times, and a 2009 fight between Guida and Diego Sanchez was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2019.
Early Life
Clay Guida was born Clayton Guida on December 8, 1981, in Round Lake, Illinois. He is from an Italian family, and his older brother, Jason, is also a mixed martial artist. Clay started wrestling when he was just 5 years old, and he played three sports at Johnsburg High School. Both Clay and Jason wrestled at Johnsburg High and William Rainey Harper College and won a 2001 NAIA national title.
Career
Guida's professional debut took place in 2003, and he lost in the first round. After losing three fights and winning three, he won 15 in a row. He signed with Strikeforce and soon competed in the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship, winning against Josh Thomson in a unanimous decision before he lost to Gilbert Melendez, who was undefeated at the time. Clay lost his next match in Japan, then he signed with World Extreme Cagefighting and the sports promotion company Zuffa. He won by unanimous decision at WEC 23, and the UFC signed him with a 20–6 record. Guida had a successful UFC debut, winning the Submission of the Night award at UFC 64, then he lost in a unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night: Evans vs. Salmon. At UFC 72, Clay and Tyson Griffin were awarded the Fight of the Night award, and he won in a split decision over Marcus Aurélio at UFC 74. He lost to Roger Huerta during The Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale, and both fighters won the Fight of the Night award. Guida defeated Samy Schiavo at UFC Fight Night 13 and Mac Danzig at UFC Fight Night 15.
Clay defeated Nate Diaz at UFC 94 in a split decision and won the Fight of the Night award again. He lost to Diego Sanchez by split decision at The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom Finale, earning another Fight of the Night award. The fight was later ranked #13 on the "UFC: Ultimate 100 Greatest Fights" list. Guida lost to Kenny Florian at UFC 107, and he defeated Shannon Gugerty at UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones, winning the UFC Submission of the Night award. He then defeated Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 117 after injuring dos Anjos' jaw. At UFC 125, Clay defeated Takanori Gomi and won another Submission of the Night award. He defeated Anthony Pettis at The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale in a unanimous decision, then he lost to Benson Henderson at UFC on Fox 1 in November 2011 and won the Fight of the Night award. Guida was defeated by Gray Maynard at UFC on FX 4 in June 2012, and for his next fight, at UFC on Fox in January 2013, he competed in the featherweight division, defeating Hatsu Hioki in a split decision. He lost to Chad Mendes via TKO at UFC 164, then he defeated Tatsuya Kawajiri at UFC Fight Night 39, earning another Fight of the Night award.
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Clay lost to Dennis Bermudez at UFC on Fox 12 in July 2014, and he defeated Robbie Peralta at UFC Fight Night 63. He then lost to Thiago Tavares at UFC Fight Night 77 and to Brian Ortega at UFC 199, and he defeated Erik Koch at UFC Fight Night: Chiesa vs. Lee and Joe Lauzon at UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Pettis. He was defeated by Charles Oliveira at UFC 225, and he won his match against former UFC champion B.J. Penn at UFC 237 in May 2019. The following month it was announced that Guida's 2009 fight against Diego Sanchez at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale would be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. Clay lost to Jim Miller at UFC on ESPN 5 in August 2019 and to Bobby Green at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Volkov in June 2020, and he defeated Michael Johnson at UFC Fight Night 184. After losing to Mark Madsen at UFC on ESPN 29 in August 2021, Guida defeated Leonardo Santos at UFC on ESPN: Font vs. Aldo a few months later and won the Performance of the Night award. He then lost to Claudio Puelles at UFC Fight Night 205, and he defeated Scott Holtzman at UFC on ESPN 42 in December 2022. In 2023, he was defeated by Rafa García at UFC on ESPN 44 and by Joaquim Silva at UFC on ESPN 52.
Personal Life
Clay is a fan of the Illinois sports teams the Chicago Cubs and Chicago Bears. He is also a fan of the Grateful Dead and attended their 50th anniversary reunion shows. Guida has described himself as a "'Big Lebowski' addict," and in a 2014 interview with Fox Sports, he said he had seen the movie "at least 250 times."
Championships and Accomplishments
Guida has won the UFC Fight of the Night six times, Submission of the Night three times, and Performance of the Night one time, and he has won the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship once. Clay has achieved the most control time in UFC Lightweight division history (2:06:34) and most top position time in UFC Lightweight division history (1:29:44), and he tied the record for most decision bouts in UFC history (20). In 2009, Clay won a World MMA Award for Fight of the Year (The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom Finale vs. Diego Sanchez). In 2007, "FIGHT! Magazine" named his match against Roger Huerta "Fight of the Year." "Wrestling Observer Newsletter" honored him with the Tequila CAZADORES Spirit Award twice, and they named his June 2009 match against Diego Sanchez "Fight of the Year."
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