UFC News: Clay Guida vs. Gray Maynard and Rich Franklin vs. Cung Le Are Official

Perennial UFC lightweight contenders Clay Guida and Gray Maynard will square off in the main event of UFC on FX 3, while former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin is set to take on Cung Le at UFC 148, the UFC announced today. 

Guida vs. Maynard was heavily rumored to take place at UFC 145, but the bout never came to fruition for that card. Instead, the matchup will be a five-round affair this summer. 

"The Carpenter" Clay Guida is coming off of a "Fight of the Night" bout against Benson Henderson at the UFC's inaugural FOX event in November, despite a losing effort. 

Meanwhile, "The Bully" Gray Maynard lost a rubber match in devastating knockout fashion against then reigning lightweight champion Frankie Edgar at UFC 136. 

The winner will immediately be catapulted back into title contention, while the loser will have a long road ahead to be considered anything more than a divisional gatekeeper. 

Franklin was scheduled to meet Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 133, but "Little Nog" suffered a shoulder injury close to fight time and the bout ended up being scrapped. 

This will be Franklin's first bout in nearly a year-and-a-half, with his last outing being a unanimous decision loss to former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin at UFC 126. 

His next opponent, Cung Le, a former Strikeforce middleweight champion, was unsuccessful in his UFC debut against Wanderlei Silva at UFC 139. "The Human Highlight Reel" lost by second round TKO. 

UFC on FX 3 is set to take place at Atlantic City, New Jersey on June 22nd with a venue to be announced, while UFC 148 goes down on July 7th and the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.