Las Vegas’ Gray Maynard ends losing streak

It wasn’t pretty, but Gray Maynard has his first victory after a four-year drought.

Maynard, who was on a four-fight losing streak, won his featherweight debut by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) against Fernando Bruno Friday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on the undercard of The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale.

The Las Vegas resident survived an early barrage from Bruno before controlling the match with his striking and ground game.

Bruno rocked Maynard soon after the opening horn, but couldn’t put Maynard away. The Brazilian was on his knees after the second round and appeared to be too tired to finish off the fight.

“All of the ups and downs, I always planned to beat the guy, but it just wasn’t happening,” Maynard said about ending his losing streak. “It was always pretty tough afterward. ‘How am I going to change up stuff?’

“I came out here and it kinda turned into a backyard brawl. It wasn’t the most clean fight, but it was good to get (the win).”

There was speculation that the 37-year-old Maynard would retire. His prior fight was 15 months ago and his last win was against Clay Guida in 2012.

Instead of calling it quits, Maynard made surprising news by leaving the lightweight division to drop to 145 pounds. Maynard said he hasn’t been under 150 pounds since his junior year of high school.

“In the back of my head all camp, ‘Can I make this?’ It was stressful but I was really, really disciplined,” said Maynard about making weight. “Every meal was on point. It was kind of tough to get the last 2.8 (pounds) off. But I liked how the (weigh-in) was early.”

Maynard (13-6-1) was once a top contender at 155 pounds. His most memorable fight was a draw against Frankie Edgar for the lightweight championship.

Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0492. Follow him on Twitter: @gmanzano24