UFC 130 – Gray Maynard working hard on the small things ahead of trilogy fight with Frankie Edgar

UFC lightweight number one contender, Gray Maynard has revealed that he’s knuckling down in the gym ahead of his UFC 130 clash with current champion, Frankie Edgar, explaining it’s the small things he’s working on in order to make sure “The Answer” doesn’t escape with his belt this time around.
Speaking via BloodyElbow.com, Maynard said:

“I’ve been keeping in the gym. I’m working on a few new things I’m learning so it’s been basically that. I had to do a little bit of travelling but now I’m back to work every day. I’ve done some outdoors activities as well so I’m just enjoying life. It’s the only way to live and if you’re not happy then you are doing something wrong. I’m still in the gym working hard every day. Right now I’m focusing on a few of the smaller things I needed to improve on and getting geared up for camp to start.”

On whether this fight will determine who is the top lightweight fighter in the world, Maynard said:

“I think that’s going to be the case. I think Gilbert is a tough kid and he’s a good fighter. Eddie Alvarez is good too but they aren’t consistently going up against top competition. To be the in the top spot you have to beat the other top fighters. If you look at our top lightweights we are all fighting each other and to get to the top of our division you have to go up against guys like Edgar, Penn, Florian and Jim Miller. There are a bunch of different guys in the UFC lightweight division and it’s just stacked. There are no easy fights at 155 pounds and I think to become champion of that division will prove you are the best in the world.”

Maynard holds a unanimous decision win over Edgar from the past and almost dethroned the champ when he floored him with a hard punch in the very first round of their UFC 125 clash in January. Will “The Bully” prove he’s the better man the third time they meet or has Edgar sufficiently closed the gap?