Clay Guida understands his limitations.

He's a terrific wrestler, his pace and conditioning is unmatched in the lightweight division and he can even submit opponents, but his striking has always been his biggest weakness.

When he can't take an opponent to the ground and is forced to stand and trade, he's had some of the best fights in UFC history, but he's always been on the losing end of those "Fight of the Year" candidates (ex: Ben Henderson, Roger Huerta, Diego Sanchez, Tyson Griffin).

Sports Illustrated was recently a guest at Greg Jackson's Gym, where they caught some of "The Carpenter's" improving stand-up skills in action as he prepares for his UFC on FX 4 main event fight this Friday night (June 22, 2012) against Gray Maynard.

It doesn't hurt to have renowned striking coach Mike Winklejohn in your corner either.

Check out the video posted after the jump as Guida hunts for "that first knockout in the UFC."

Do you think he'll be able to put it all together against Maynard? Or will this be another epic battle where Guida comes up short?