By Thomas Gerbasi

Gray Maynard remembers one of the first conversations with his boxing coach, Gil Martinez, almost like it happened yesterday. Unbeaten in three UFC fights following his stint on the fifth season of The Ultimate Fighter, “The Bully” was just that in the Octagon – a hard-charging wrestler who swung for the cheap seats with every punch.

And since no one was proving otherwise to him, he figured he had come upon a formula that would allow him to sail right to the top of the lightweight division, and he let Martinez know it.

“I came to him and I said ‘don’t even worry about me, I can take a punch,’” recalled Maynard with a smile. “He looked at me like he never heard that before and he said, ‘Hey, this is just me talking, but you don’t have to take a punch.’”

That response came as a shock to the fighter.

“Yeah, but it’s all good, trust me,” he said, and got ready to spar with an 18-year old boxer who was in the Las Vegas gym that day.

“He was skinny, scrawny,” laughed Maynard. “I said ‘I’ll take it easy on this guy Gil, don’t worry about it.”

You can probably figure out what happened next.

“He just lit me up, and this kid went easy on me too,” said Maynard. “This kid hit harder than anybody I ever went with, and I’ve sparred with Wanderlei (Silva), (Randy) Couture, and just the accuracy, pop, and snap he had, and how hard he was to hit, I just grabbed it right there and said wow, so that’s boxing, that’s hands, and that’s how it can be. It opened my eyes to what you can be if you slow it down, learn, and know that this is a sport with technique.”

Gray Maynard was never the same fighter again. Sure he kept his standout wrestling and his ability to take a punch, but what he added was precision to his striking game and a patience he never had before. Now all of a sudden he became a true mixed martial artist, and the results ever since have taken him to the upper reaches of the UFC’s lightweight division.

Frankie Edgar – Rich Clementi – Jim Miller – Roger Huerta. Four fights, four wins for Maynard, and after the September victory over Huerta, the speculation began regarding a possible shot at his former training partner and Ultimate Fighter coach, UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn. But that shot wouldn’t come right away.

“It’s all timing,” said Maynard. “There are times when you’re like wow, that turned out great, and sometimes when it’s not as great. I know Diego (Sanchez) was going up against Penn at the time so that put him (Penn) in December, and he probably won’t be going again until March, April, or maybe even May, so for me, that’s a long time to wait. And as (UFC matchmaker) Joe (Silva) picks the fights, the only one that would be clear cut for me was Nate (Diaz). So that worked out great, I’ve got no problems.”

He says that because when he steps into the Octagon for the first time in 2010 this Monday night at The Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia, he will be doing so against the only fighter to defeat him in a mixed martial arts competition – Nate Diaz, who submitted Maynard in a bout during season five of TUF. So not only does he stay busy, he can get a little payback.

“It’s a good opportunity for me to get back a loss that I had on the TV show,” said Maynard. “He’s a tough opponent and he’s been doing good, so I’m pumped up.”

The repeat or redemption angle is always a juicy one, especially when promoting a fight, and this instance is no different. But while Diaz always brings the heat in the lead-up to a bout and Maynard certainly wants to erase that blemish in his mind, getting even with the Stockton, California native wasn’t something that kept Maynard up at night. He had more pressing matters to deal with over the last couple years, like some of the top young lightweights in the world trying to take his head off.

“A loss is a loss, and it’s always tough,” Said Maynard. “But after it happened, I said ‘it’s behind me, I’m just gonna keep going, train a lot more, learn, and if it happens again, then I’ll be prepared.’ I’ve had seven more fights and now him, so I couldn’t dwell on Nate Diaz beating me. I had to jump into the gym and I had a lot of tough guys to fight, so I concentrated on them and then the opportunity came and its here – so I’m pumped up about it.”

That’s not to say Maynard hasn’t kept an eye on his old rival as he made his own trek up the 155-pound ranks.

“He’s had some tough dudes to fight and when you do that you start to learn more and relax more, so it’s helped him out a lot,” he said. “He’s been in with Joe Stevenson, Clay Guida, Melvin (Guillard), Josh Neer, so he gained a lot, I guarantee that. Technically, I don’t know if he’s changed too much.”

Maynard has though, despite Diaz’ claims to the contrary, and it’s his goal to let the 24-year old know that as soon as the referee calls them to the center of the Octagon Monday night. After that, should he be victorious and get the loss back, the call will go up again for Maynard to get a shot at…

“I’d stop right after I can get the loss back just because I’ve been doing sports for a long time and if you look past anyone, it’s definitely not good,” he said. “There’s never been a time when it’s been good to look past anyone, especially Nate Diaz. The kid is real dangerous and I haven’t even gone into ‘what if’ this or ‘what if’ that, because it isn’t there. I’ve got this fight, we’ll see where I’m at, and we’ll take it from there. One day at a time, that’s all I can do.”