UFC on ESPN 52 results: Joaquim Silva edges Clay Guida by decision in entertaining scrap

Clay Guida showed he's still formidable at 41 years old at UFC on ESPN 52, but it wasn't enough to outwork Joaquim Silva.

AUSTIN, Texas – Clay Guida showed he’s still formidable at 41 at UFC on ESPN 52, but it wasn’t enough to outwork Joaquim Silva.

Guida (38-24 MMA, 18-18 UFC) added another entertaining fight to his octagon catalogue against Silva (13-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) in their lightweight bout, which took place at Moody Center and aired on ESPN, but came in a losing manner as he dropped a unanimous decision with a trio of 29-28 scores.

This one went to the judges @NettoBJJ is back in the win column after he takes the unanimous decision over Clay Guida at #UFCAustin pic.twitter.com/CkKqJCUECP

— UFC (@ufc) December 3, 2023

Guida came out of the gate looking to pressure forward and string together heavy combinations. He tagged Silva hard midway through the round, but it led to overconfidence and the Brazilian hit him back with a stiff uppercut that led to a near-finishing sequence as Guida tried to scramble from damage. He ultimately survived, and managed to make it out of the round.

The second round was classic Guida. He came forward and Silva and clinched him up against the fence, repeatedly connecting the hands and landing high-impact takedowns. To Silva’s credit, he never accepted bottom position and stood up over and over again, though he couldn’t get Guida off him well enough to mount his own offense.

With both men losing some steam going into the final frame, Guida tried to show he has more in the tank by moving forward with clinch and takedown attempts. Silva landed some timely counter shots and stuffed the advances of Guida. Silva attempted a pair of guillotine choke attempts late in the round, but Guida escaped them to close out a highly competitive contest.

With the defeat, Guida joins a dubious category for the most losses by a single fighter in UFC history, tying Jeremy Stephens with 18. He’s now 1-3 in his past four fights dating back to April 2022, and at 41, is the oldest active lightweight on the roster.

Silva turned around a tough stretch. He’d lost three of four – all by knockout – coming into the matchup with Guida, but got back on track with the triumphant performance.

“I respect Clay Guida a lot. This guy is a big legend in the UFC,” Silva said in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. “I was so happy when he accepted the fight. This guy is amazing. It’s very exciting to fight him. It was a great fight.”

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 52 results include:

• Joaquim Silva def. Clay Guida via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Dustin Stoltzfus def. Punahele Soriano via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:10
• Miesha Tate def. Julia Avila via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 1:15
• Cody Brundage def. Zach Reese via knockout (slam, punches) – Round 1, 1:49
• Drakkar Klose def. Joe Solecki via knockout (slam) – Round 1, 1:41
• Rodolfo Bellato def. Ihor Potieria via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:17
• Jared Gooden def. Wellington Turman via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:11
• Veronica Hardy def. Jamey-Lyn Horth via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 52.