Melvin Guillard released from UFC

[Dale]

Melvin Guillard's almost nine-year UFC run has come to an end.

"The Young Assassin" was released from the UFC on Thursday night, according to his manager Malki Kawa. The decision comes after the 30-year-old lost a unanimous decision to Michael Johnson at UFC Fight Night 38 in London earlier this month.

Guillard (31-13-2, 2 NC) debuted on second season of "The Ultimate Fighter" in 2005. Despite losing early in the tournament, Guillard defeated Marcus Davis via second-round TKO in the Finale to secure a spot in the organization. The lightweight fighter went 12-9 inside the Octagon, with notable wins against Dennis Siver, Gleison Tibau, Evan Dunham and Mac Danzig.

The Louisiana native had his ups and downs in the UFC -- from testing positive to cocaine to missing weight to switching camps -- however, he always remained a fan favorite for his exciting fighting style and dynamic personality.

UFC president Dana White was critical of Guillard's performance following his loss to Johnson three weeks ago.

"There’s no doubt Melvin ran the entire fight and was incredibly passive, the complete opposite of how he used to fight," he said. "There was a lot of smack talk leading up to that fight, and those are the fights that everybody gets excited about, and nine times out of 10 they end up like tonight. Those drive me crazy."

Kawa said Guillard, who wasn't available for comment, is handling the news well and eager to move forward.

"We're working to get him signed somewhere else," he said. "I'm going to do what's best for Melvin."

Kawa wouldn't disclose any potential landing spots for Guillard at this time.

@The Cork :alicia:

Not terribly surprised in all honesty, too many losses and only 2 wins in the past couple of years. Pretty sure Dana likes the guy too so if I goes out and handles his business like Rumble did then we could see him back in the UFC before too long.

 

[Slim]

Looks like Bellator is bout to sign another lightweight.

I like the guy but yeah... he just been losing too much lately.

 

[Deezy]

Add this to the "no fucks were given" section to me. Hasn't been worth his contract since Lauzon stole his soul.

 

[The Cork]

3 of his last 4 fights were FOTN....

The Michael Johnson fight was horrible though, even I felt like booing it.

R.I.P UFC

 

[Deezy]

R.I.P. because of Guillard? While I'll agree UFC is on the downward spiral, I don't think I'll miss Guillard like I miss Chris Lytle or Matt Serra.

 

[Hot Rod]

I love Melvin and personally I didn't feel his performance was that terrible against Michael Johnson, it was just conservative...but I can see why folks expected more since he's usually rather explosive.

I think Melvin will bounce back tho, he's similar to Anthony "Rumble" Johnson...win a few outside the UFC and he'll be back in the UFC.

 

[Deezy]

Guillard has looked like shit in every fight after Joe Lauzon clocked him and choked him out.

 

[Hot Rod]

Guillard has looked like shit in every fight after Joe Lauzon clocked him and choked him out.

I have to respectfully disagree with you on that.

He very nearly finished Donald Cerrone, lost a back and forth close contest to Jamie Varner, bounced back after losing 2 straight to destroy Mac Danzig & was tooling Ross Pearson until Melvin landed a accidental knee to a grounded opponent that unfortunately stopped the fight.

Melvin's still relatively young at 31 years of age, I think WSOF is interested in bringing him in and I think they'll give him some challenging fights and if he does well there I think the UFC will contact him into returning to the big leagues again.

 

[Slim]

Well one thing to take into consideration about Melvin is that he's had over 40 fights almost 50. That's a huge toll on the body. How much longer can he really fight?

 

[Deezy]

Dan Severn, Shonie Carter, Jeremy Horn?????

 

[Slim]

Melvin fights more aggressive then them though. And looks to have taken more abuse.

 

[The Cork]

He looks pretty shot tbh, I blindly mark for the guy but he's just like Rampage, looking for one big shot and doing little else all fight.

 

[Deezy]

It didn’t take long for Melvin Guillard to find a new home.

The longtime UFC lightweight, who was released by the promotion in March, has signed with World Series of Fighting. Terms were not disclosed, but both the promotion and fighterannounced the new deal late Monday via Twitter.

“Just signed with WSOF,” Guillard posted on his Twitter account. “it feeling good to be apart of something different its time to make some real money and get that belt.”

The 30-year-old “Young Assassin” was released by the UFC following a performance that earned heavy criticism from UFC President Dana White.

Guillard, who originally joined the UFC in 2005 after appearing on the second season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” finished his UFC career with a 12-9 record.

This past month, Guillard (31-13-2) met Michael Johnson in UFC Fight Night 37′s co-main event. After the March 8 event in London, where Guillard suffered a listless unanimous-decision loss, White wouldn’t say if Guillard would be released, but he was critical of the performance.

“There’s no doubt Melvin ran the entire fight and was incredibly passive, the complete opposite of how he used to fight,” White said. “There was a lot of smack talk leading up to that fight, and those are the fights that everybody gets excited about, and nine times out of 10 they end up like tonight. Those drive me crazy. I was excited for that fight. I thought (they were) both really explosive athletes who can mix it up really well, and it just didn’t happen tonight.”

But now Guillard will look to put that behind him with WSOF, where he said on Twitter he hopes to make a run at the lightweight title. That belt currently is held by Justin Gaethje, and he is expected to defend it in July against Nick Newell.

No first fight for Guillard has been announced, though WSOF said he’ll likely be thrown right into action. So WSOF on July 11 could be a distinct possibility. That event, along with the Gaethje-Newell title fight, also features new welterweight champ Rousimar Palhares vs. Jon Fitch for the 170-pound belt and Tyrone Spong against a to-be-determined opponent. Spong and Guillard briefly were teammates at the Blackzilians camp in South Florida.

Guillard’s nine-year run in the UFC saw him win three “Knockout of the Night” bonuses, as well as many highlight-reel performances. Guillard’s best run began in 2008, when he won eight of nine fights (including victories over Dennis Siver, Gleison Tibau, Jeremy Stephens and Evan Dunham) that put him in the thick of the UFC lightweight title picture. But a 47-second submission loss to Joe Lauzon, followed by a main-event submission defeat to Jim Miller, spoiled his run. The back-to-back losses also commenced his current skid, which includes just two wins (and one no-contest) in his past eight fights.

But Guillard left his mark on the UFC’s 155-pound class. He departed with the third most wins, most knockdowns and most knockouts in UFC lightweight history.

Should just line him up with a few cans, and hotshot him to the title shot and hope this organization can get on NBC like promised.

 

[Hot Rod]

I'd love to see Melvin fight Justin Gaethje or Nick Newell in the future for the 155 title.

 

[EDemp]

Im already hearing rumors Bellator will sign him. I say he is there for a few fights, and then gets back into the UFC on a 1/2 fight contract.