Huerta has been out of action since a decision loss to Kenny Florian at UFC 87. It was during this build-up, that Huerta openly questioned the pay scale of the UFC, no doubt endearing him to Dana White. Following the fight, Huerta announced his intentions to take a hiatus from MMA to pursue acting. I would assume this endeared him even more to Dana White, after the Zuffa boys spent years building him into a big name. Huerta was the first UFC fighter to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated in May 2007.

Maynard on the other hand, has been steady and solid, winning 5 in a row…after his first fight after TUF 5 of course. In that fight, Maynard picked up Rob Emerson and slammed him to the mat, giving himself a DDT in the process. See the .gif below; Jake “the Snake” Roberts would have been proud.