# Gray Maynard
**Gray Maynard** (Bradley Gray Maynard, born 1979) is a retired American mixed martial artist nicknamed "The Bully" who fought for the [Ultimate Fighting Championship](https://www.edgepedia.org/ultimate-fighting-championship) (UFC) from 2007 to 2018, challenged for the UFC lightweight title twice, and is best known for his three-fight series with [Frankie Edgar](https://www.edgepedia.org/frankie-edgar).[1](https://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Gray-Maynard-15835) • [2](https://boxing.nv.gov/uploadedfiles/boxingnvgov/content/results/2016_Results/07-08-16MMA.pdf) A former collegiate All-American wrestler at [Michigan State University](https://www.edgepedia.org/michigan-state-university), he built his career on takedowns and physical strength, winning 11 of his 13 professional wins by decision.[3](https://www.mmafighting.com/2010/12/31/181013/ufc-125-lightweight-title-breakdown-frankie-edgar-vs-gray-mayn) • [4](https://www.fightmatrix.com/fighter-profile/Gray%20Maynard/33743/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1979; Las Vegas, Nevada residence listed on Nevada Athletic Commission records[1](https://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Gray-Maynard-15835) • [2](https://boxing.nv.gov/uploadedfiles/boxingnvgov/content/results/2016_Results/07-08-16MMA.pdf) |
| Pro record | 13-7-1, 1 no contest; 11 wins by decision, 2 by KO/TKO, 0 by submission[4](https://www.fightmatrix.com/fighter-profile/Gray%20Maynard/33743/) • [1](https://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Gray-Maynard-15835) |
| UFC record | 11-7-1, 1 NC; title bouts 0-1-1; longest win streak 8 (2007-2010)[4](https://www.fightmatrix.com/fighter-profile/Gray%20Maynard/33743/) |
| Fighting style | Wrestling-based; completed 12 takedowns against Frankie Edgar at 41% accuracy across their trilogy[5](https://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/By-The-Numbers-Frankie-EdgarGray-Maynard-Trilogy-192170) |
| Edgar trilogy | Win by unanimous decision (2008), split draw at UFC 125 (2011), KO loss at UFC 136 (2011); series 1-1-1[5](https://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/By-The-Numbers-Frankie-EdgarGray-Maynard-Trilogy-192170) |
| Team | American Kickboxing Academy; orthodox stance, 1.78 m reach[1](https://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Gray-Maynard-15835) • [6](https://www.espn.co.uk/mma/fighter/_/id/2335689/gray-maynard) |
| Last fight | Loss to Nik Lentz by TKO at UFC 229, October 6, 2018[1](https://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Gray-Maynard-15835) |
## Background and wrestling
Maynard wrestled from early childhood, telling an interviewer in 2008 that he had been wrestling since he was three years old.[7](https://www.mmamania.com/2008/10/24/196781/shades-of-gray-an-exclusive-interview-with-ufc-lightweight-gray-maynard) He competed as a collegiate All-American at Michigan State University, where he trained alongside former UFC heavyweight champion [Rashad Evans](https://www.edgepedia.org/rashad-evans).[3](https://www.mmafighting.com/2010/12/31/181013/ufc-125-lightweight-title-breakdown-frankie-edgar-vs-gray-mayn) • [8](https://dspace.cuni.cz/bitstream/handle/20.500.11956/70906/DPTX_2012_2_11510_0_394618_0_139823.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1) His takedown accuracy became a defining statistic of his UFC run: before his first title fight he had landed 25 of his last 30 attempts, an 83 percent success rate.[3](https://www.mmafighting.com/2010/12/31/181013/ufc-125-lightweight-title-breakdown-frankie-edgar-vs-gray-mayn)
## The Ultimate Fighter and early UFC career
Maynard joined the fifth season of [The Ultimate Fighter](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-ultimate-fighter), the UFC's reality-series tournament, in 2007. In the exhibition bouts he beat Wayne Weems by TKO and Brandon Melendez by guillotine choke before losing his semifinal to [Nate Diaz](https://www.edgepedia.org/nate-diaz) by the same submission.[1](https://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Gray-Maynard-15835) His official UFC debut came at UFC Fight Night 11 in September 2007, where he knocked out Joe Veres in 9 seconds.[1](https://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Gray-Maynard-15835) His first scheduled professional bout against Robert Emerson, at The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale in June 2007, was ruled a no contest after a double TKO.[1](https://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Gray-Maynard-15835)
From 2007 to 2010 he won eight consecutive fights, a streak that included [Dennis Siver](https://www.edgepedia.org/dennis-siver), Frankie Edgar, Rich Clementi, Jim Miller, Roger Huerta, Nate Diaz, and [Kenny Florian](https://www.edgepedia.org/kenny-florian).[4](https://www.fightmatrix.com/fighter-profile/Gray%20Maynard/33743/) • [1](https://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Gray-Maynard-15835) The win over Edgar in April 2008 was the first loss of Edgar's professional career, and Maynard's five-fight run through Miller, Diaz, Huerta, Florian, and Edgar was described by UFC.com as a sequence of wins over the lightweight division's leading names.[9](https://www.ufc.com/news/gray-maynard-bully-beantown)
## The Frankie Edgar trilogy
Maynard and Edgar fought three times between April 2, 2008 and October 8, 2011, a span of 1,284 days, and the series ended 1-1-1.[5](https://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/By-The-Numbers-Frankie-EdgarGray-Maynard-Trilogy-192170)
**First fight, UFC Fight Night 13 (April 2008).** Maynard won a three-round unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the bout 30-27, though the first two rounds were close.[5](https://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/By-The-Numbers-Frankie-EdgarGray-Maynard-Trilogy-192170) • [3](https://www.mmafighting.com/2010/12/31/181013/ufc-125-lightweight-title-breakdown-frankie-edgar-vs-gray-mayn)
**Second fight, UFC 125 (January 1, 2011).** Edgar, by then the UFC lightweight champion, met Maynard in a title fight. Maynard dropped Edgar repeatedly in the first round, and UFC.com's retrospective states that by most accounts the bout could have been stopped, but Edgar survived and recovered.[10](https://www.ufc.com/news/dynamic-dozen-ufc-trilogies-part-2) • [11](https://www.ufc.com/news/frankie-edgar-underdog-champion) The fight ended in a five-round split draw, so Edgar retained the title; it was the first time in his career Maynard had gone past three rounds.[12](https://www.ufc.com/news/true-grit-edgar-retains-title-draw) The event drew 270,000 pay-per-view purchases.[5](https://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/By-The-Numbers-Frankie-EdgarGray-Maynard-Trilogy-192170)
**Third fight, UFC 136 (October 8, 2011).** Maynard again hurt Edgar badly in the opening round, out-striking him 36-11, but could not finish him.[13](https://www.mmafighting.com/2011/10/9/2737506/final-answer-frankie-edgar-completes-epic-rivalry-with-tko-of-g) Edgar knocked Maynard down in the fourth and stopped him with punches at 3:54 of the round, ending the rivalry in Edgar's favor.[1](https://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Gray-Maynard-15835) • [13](https://www.mmafighting.com/2011/10/9/2737506/final-answer-frankie-edgar-completes-epic-rivalry-with-tko-of-g) The bout drew 16,164 fans to the [Toyota Center](https://www.edgepedia.org/toyota-center) in Houston and a $2,230,000 live gate, and UFC 136 added 225,000 buys.[5](https://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/By-The-Numbers-Frankie-EdgarGray-Maynard-Trilogy-192170) Across the three fights the two men shared the cage for 58 minutes 54 seconds, and Maynard landed four of the series' five knockdowns without ever converting one into a stoppage.[5](https://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/By-The-Numbers-Frankie-EdgarGray-Maynard-Trilogy-192170)
## Later career and decline
After the Edgar trilogy Maynard went 3-6 in his remaining nine appearances, beating [Clay Guida](https://www.edgepedia.org/clay-guida) by split decision in 2012, Fernando Bruno in 2016, and Teruto Ishihara in 2017.[5](https://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/By-The-Numbers-Frankie-EdgarGray-Maynard-Trilogy-192170) A run of stoppage losses followed: T.J. Grant and Nate Diaz by punches in 2013, [Ross Pearson](https://www.edgepedia.org/ross-pearson) by punches in 2014, and finally [Nik Lentz](https://www.edgepedia.org/nik-lentz) by head kick and punches at UFC 229 on October 6, 2018, his last professional fight.[1](https://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Gray-Maynard-15835) He moved to featherweight for the final stretch of his career, and his last ranked position was No. 35 at featherweight in July 2018.[4](https://www.fightmatrix.com/fighter-profile/Gray%20Maynard/33743/)
## Record discrepancies and later life
The major MMA databases disagree slightly on his final record. Sherdog, Tapology, and FightMatrix list 13-7-1 with 1 no contest, while ESPN lists 13-8-1.[1](https://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Gray-Maynard-15835) • [14](https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/fighters/gray-maynard-the-bully) • [4](https://www.fightmatrix.com/fighter-profile/Gray%20Maynard/33743/) • [6](https://www.espn.co.uk/mma/fighter/_/id/2335689/gray-maynard)
## References
1. [Gray "The Bully" Maynard MMA Stats, Sherdog.com](https://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Gray-Maynard-15835)
2. [State of Nevada Athletic Commission results, July 8, 2016](https://boxing.nv.gov/uploadedfiles/boxingnvgov/content/results/2016_Results/07-08-16MMA.pdf)
3. [UFC 125 Lightweight Title Breakdown: Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard, MMA Fighting](https://www.mmafighting.com/2010/12/31/181013/ufc-125-lightweight-title-breakdown-frankie-edgar-vs-gray-mayn)
4. [Gray Maynard Fighter Profile, FightMatrix](https://www.fightmatrix.com/fighter-profile/Gray%20Maynard/33743/)
5. [By The Numbers: Frankie Edgar-Gray Maynard Trilogy, Sherdog](https://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/By-The-Numbers-Frankie-EdgarGray-Maynard-Trilogy-192170)
6. [Gray Maynard (Featherweight) MMA Profile, ESPN](https://www.espn.co.uk/mma/fighter/_/id/2335689/gray-maynard)
7. [Shades of Gray: An exclusive interview with UFC lightweight Gray Maynard, MMA Mania](https://www.mmamania.com/2008/10/24/196781/shades-of-gray-an-exclusive-interview-with-ufc-lightweight-gray-maynard)
8. [Charles University thesis on MMA fighters (Gray Maynard entry)](https://dspace.cuni.cz/bitstream/handle/20.500.11956/70906/DPTX_2012_2_11510_0_394618_0_139823.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1)
9. [Gray Maynard - A Bully in Beantown, UFC.com](https://www.ufc.com/news/gray-maynard-bully-beantown)
10. [Dynamic Dozen: UFC Trilogies Part II, UFC.com](https://www.ufc.com/news/dynamic-dozen-ufc-trilogies-part-2)
11. [Frankie Edgar - From Underdog to Champion, UFC.com](https://www.ufc.com/news/frankie-edgar-underdog-champion)
12. [True Grit - Edgar Retains Title with Draw, UFC.com](https://www.ufc.com/news/true-grit-edgar-retains-title-draw)
13. [Final Answer: Frankie Edgar Completes Epic Rivalry With TKO of Gray Maynard, MMA Fighting](https://www.mmafighting.com/2011/10/9/2737506/final-answer-frankie-edgar-completes-epic-rivalry-with-tko-of-g)
14. [Gray Maynard ("The Bully"), Tapology](https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/fighters/gray-maynard-the-bully)
15. [Gray Maynard declaration, UFC antitrust case (October 3, 2024), Courthouse News](https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/gray-maynard-declaration-ufc-antitrust.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Combat sports and professional wrestling › Mixed martial arts › Lightweight fighters*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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