UFC President Dana White was not happy with Clay Guida‘s display against Rafa Garca on Saturday’s UFC Fight Night. The ‘Carpenter’ was defeated by Garcia via unanimous decision, and he indicated that he may retire as a result. After the judges’ scores were announced and Guida took off his gloves, he was approached by UFC color commentator Daniel Cormier for a post-fight interview.
Taking off one’s gloves immediately following a bout is almost always an indication that the competitor is preparing to call it quits in their professional fighting career. After losing a decision by a wide margin to Rafa Garcia, it appeared as though Clay Guida was doing just that to console himself.
“I tricked you guys,” Guida said to the crowd. “There ain’t no way I’m walking away yet. I want to congratulate this young man Rafa Garcia and I want to ask Rafa Garcia to trade gloves with me because that was a heck of a performance by him.”
After that, Guida proceeded to wish a number of people a happy birthday, including his mother, who was present at his fight on Saturday. Even though Guida’s sincere statement made him look like a decent son, it didn’t win over UFC president Dana White, who wasn’t pleased that the broadcast had been taken over for phony reasons.
“That pissed me off actually, to be honest with you,” White said when reacting to Guida’s fakeout. “No, that pissed me off.
“I like [Clay Guida], he’s a nice guy, but you’re faking your retirement so you can say f****** happy birthday to somebody?”
Similar actions were taken by Bill Algeo before he fired into the crowd in Kansas City, so Guida wasn’t alone in this.