Ultimate fighter has ultimate fans

Anyone doubting the booming popularity of mixed martial arts in the suburbs needed to look no farther than the atrium of Stratford Square Mall in Bloomingdale.

Fans lined up through and outside the new Xtreme Clothing & Denim store Saturday afternoon to meet up-and-coming Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter Clay "The Carpenter" Guida.

A Round Lake native, Guida, 26, also trains regularly in Schaumburg and Tinley Park with Xtreme owner Tony Odisho, who happens to be his strength and conditioning coach.

Guida, coming off a devastating defeat on last month's season finale of "The Ultimate Fighter" reality show, visited with hundreds of fans and vowed to be in the mix for the organization's lightweight title this year.

"I want to fight again, hopefully as soon as March or April," Guida said sitting inside a mini octagon cage in the center of the store. "It's a new year and my resolution is to take the title in '08 and be back and better than ever."

Several fans who were waiting to meet the fighter said they admire his energy and endurance despite his 2-3 record since joining UFC in late 2006.

"This guy gets in the ring and no matter how tough the fight, he never slows down," Mark Kakuris of Wheaton said. "He's always running on a full tank and fighting for his life."

Added Kim Del Ray in line behind Kakuris, "Clay is just tenacious in the octagon. He has no off button."

Guida said he has to be quick because if he slows down he'll get submitted by his opponent.

"I never really had the killer instinct as a kid or anything, but I learned it quick when I saw a guy across the cage from me that wanted to hurt me," he said. "But more than anything, I get in the cage, have fun and do all I can to win."

As for his large and growing fan base, Guida said he owes it to organizations like the UFC that have put the product on the market in a positive way and friends like Odisho, who drum up the support locally by having events like Saturday's autograph signing.

Saturday's event ended up being such a success, Odisho said he intends to bring in a new mixed martial arts star to his Bloomingdale store at least once a month.

"We all train together and are friends, so I'll be asking them all to come visit the store at some point," he said. "Besides, they like seeing their fans, so they'll be here."