The Weekly Wrap: Jan. 9 - Jan. 15

UFC Fight Night 20

He didn’t make himself a surefire No. 1 contender for the lightweight title, but Gray Maynard managed to stay undefeated at UFC Fight Night 20 on Jan. 11, edging a split decision over Nate Diaz in the main event of the Spike TV event.

Maynard said he was thrown off by the psychological tactics of Diaz, whom he’d lost to via guillotine on season five of “The Ultimate Fighter,” but ultimately landed enough power shots to sway the judges in his favor in a fight that could easily have been declared a draw.

Diaz, who argued Maynard didn’t land the number of strikes he did, kept his distance and pawed at Maynard, bruising his face and forcing him to miss on big punches. Maynard did not tap his effective wrestling, as he was leery of Diaz’s long limbs and submission chops. According to FightMetric, Diaz landed and threw more strikes while Maynard had slightly better accuracy.

The fight was cast as a learning experience for Maynard, not a performance that indicated he was ready to offer a challenge for champion B.J. Penn. UFC President Dana White told MMA Fanhouse that the performance did not sway him, and said Frankie Edgar will get the next crack at the title. Penn could defend the belt at a tentatively planned event on April 10 in Abu Dhabi.

Ultimate Fight Night 20 emanated from The Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va., the UFC’s first card in the state. It drew 8,500 fans -- a packed house in the 10,000-seat building when production kills are factored in -- and $370,000 at the gate. Dana White told MMA Fanhouse the show was the biggest gate the state has had. It was the second-highest gate the UFC has drawn for a Fight Night, behind an April 2008 event in Colorado.

Spike TV requested the UFC schedule the event on a Monday for the first time since 2005, a competitive night for sports. Though there was no football to battle, the UFC did go up against a former Spike TV staple, WWE Monday Night Raw. While in wrestling the scheduling was viewed as aggressive, the ratings battle was not competitive. The Fight Night card drew a 1.2 share rating for an average of 1.7 million viewers on Spike versus Raw’s 3.6 rating and 5.6 million viewers. The UFC card actually drew a lower number than a pro wrestling program Spike TV featured last Monday night; a live three-hour Total Nonstop Action show notched a 1.44 rating and 2.2 million eyeballs.

Also Jan. 11, emerging lightweight force Evan Dunham picked up an extra $30,000 bonus by hitting a nasty armbar to hand Ultimate Fighter 8 winner Efrain Escudero his first professional loss. Dunham overcame an early blitz of strikes from the All-American wrestler to spin into the submission after taking Escudero’s back in the third round. Despite a nasty visual, Escudero did not suffer a broken arm. Another Ultimate Fighter season winner, Amir Sadollah, saw success. Sadollah used quality muay Thai strikes to defeat Brad Blackburn by unanimous decision. A Virginia native, Sadollah received the night’s biggest ovation.

Bonuses for the “Fight of the Night” went to Aaron Simpson and Tom Lawlor for their back-and-forth scrap, which nearly saw Simpson knocked out in the first as Lawlor blitzed the undefeated wrestler with heavy strikes. The night’s best knockout payout went to Gerald Harris, the only fighter to score a TKO on the card. Harris stopped late replacement John Salter with hammerfists in the third round.

Also picking up wins at UFC Fight Night were Chris Leben (decision over Jay Silva); Rick Story (decision over Jesse Lennox); Rory MacDonald (submission over Michael Guymon); Rafael dos Anjos (decision over Kyle Bradley); and Nick Catone (decision over Jesse Forbes). Thiago Tavares and Nik Lentz went to a draw after Tavares was docked a point for groin shots. Leben was the night’s highest earner with $60,000; main eventers Maynard and Diaz earned $40,000 and $48,000, respectively. Guymon’s loss in his UFC debut was closely watched because it came after a recent suicide attempt; wrestlingobserver.com reported that Guymon found out his dog had died as he was flying home from the fight.