MMA News Forums » MMA Forums » General MMA Forum

[TeddyDaBear]

from MMAJunkie.com
Melvin Guillard Returns at UFC 79 — But Does Anyone Care? -- MMAjunkie.com

Melvin Guillard, an insanely experienced 24-year-old fighter who garnered some fame during a quick stint on “The Ultimate Fighter 2,” returns to the octagon on Saturday for the first time in nearly nine months.

The question, though, is whether anyone still cares.

As the MMA community gears up for Saturday’s UFC 79 event at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, the spotlight shines on a main event of Matt Hughes vs. Georges St. Pierre (for the UFC’s interim welterweight title), as well as a long-awaited bout between former champs Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva.

However, little attention has been paid to a main-card bout of Guillard vs. bitter rival Rich Clementi.

Once one of the lightweight division’s most promising prospects, Guillard has been largely forgotten since an April drug suspension due to cocaine.

Guillard, who’s posted a staggering 20-6-2 record since turning professional at just 19 years of age, could still be one of the sport’s most promising talents. Quick, explosive and extraordinarily and nearly implausibly strong, he has all the raw skills to allude and overpower nearly any 155-pound fighter alive.

Unfortunately, a series of blunders during the past couple years — unforgivable gaffes that overshadow all of that God-given talent — have Guillard starting from scratch and looking to reclaim any type of status in the UFC’s crowded lightweight division.

The decorated high school wrestler reached the zenith of his fighting career when he earned headline status versus Joe Stevenson at UFC Fight Night 9 in April. The marquee booking — on live, national television — gave the New Orleans native the perfect shot at redemption. He could erase that dismal performance on the UFC’s reality series (after talking a big game and declaring himself the odds-on favorite to win the competition, he promptly suffered a lackluster unanimous-decision loss to Josh Burkman in the show’s first preliminary fight) and prove that all those MMA wins and professional kickboxing titles aren’t flukes and were totally deserved.

With a win over Stevenson, “The Ultimate Fighter 2” winner and emerging lightweight prospect, Guillard could also prove that he doesn’t buckle under the pressure of big fights. After all, Guillard bounced back for a win over Marcus Davis at The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale, but at the time, the former professional boxer was still new to MMA and completely raw. Davis didn’t resemble the world top-10 welterweight fighter we see today, and Guillard cruised to a TKO victory after opening a deep cut in the first round.

So, Guillard was then tested. He was pitted against UFC veteran Josh Neer at UFC Fight Night 3 and given a chance to shine and make a statement. Instead, he suffered a submission loss. A loss to such an experienced fighter as Neer could, of course, be forgiven, but the manner in which Guillard blew it wasn’t. After dominating the fight and ground and pounding Neer into a bloody mess, Guillard was forced to tap out from a telegraphed triangle choke in the final minute of the first round.

It was four minutes and 15 seconds of pure domination voided by five seconds of complete carelessness.

Unfortunately, it’d become reoccurring theme.

The defenders could only excuse so much, and Guillard wasn’t making it easy.

Never an organization to throw away such promising talent, though, the UFC built Guillard right back up. He was given two more chances, and to his credit, he made the most of them. He was first fed Rick Davis, a veteran of just four fights who hasn’t been heard of since that first-round knockout to Guillard at UFC 60. Then came Gabe Ruediger (yes, that Gabe Ruediger), whom Guillard KO’d with a body punch in the second round of their UFC 63 televised fight.

But back in February, MMAjunkie.com learned that Guillard sucker punched his upcoming UFC 79 opponent, Clementi, while both were in attendance at a smaller regional MMA show. The feud began on an Internet forum and escalated with heated email exchanges. It apparently carried over to the show, where numerous witnesses reported that Guillard threw the first punch.

Still, with his career in the octagon back on track, Guillard then got the shot at Stevenson at UFC Fight Night 9. Spike TV loves to showcase “TUF” alumni during its Fight Night events, and Guillard and Stevenson were both making noise in the 155-pound division.

But prior to the April bout, Stevenson — a clean-cut family man and fan favorite — found himself on the wrong end of Guillard’s unsubstantiated accusations. While a guest on the Sherdog Radio Network, Guillard accused Stevenson of being an “HGH user” who uses “anabolic sh**” to get an unfair advantage, which were allegations Stevenson vehemently denied. (Guillard was later forced to retract the statements and admit he had no shred of evidence to support his claims.)

The pre-fight banter only made Guillard look that much sillier when he was forced to tap out from a guillotine choke just 27 seconds into the main-event fight.

He never connected on a punch. He never implemented any sort of game plan except for a few wild punches. And just like before, Guillard easily got caught in a submission and was forced to quickly tap out.

Then came the real bombshell: Guillard tested positive for cocaine during an event drug test.

Guillard admitted to using cocaine six days prior to the fight and said that he expected the drug to be out of his system in time for his fight. The Nevada State Athletic Commission fined him $2,100 and suspended him eight months.

Guillard vowed to clean up his act. And perhaps as a sign he was serious, we haven’t really heard of Guillard ever since. Perhaps no news really is good news.

Again, at just 24 years of age, Guillard has all the time in the world to right the ship. He has all the talent to be a legitimate contender for the UFC’s lightweight title. And he has all the second chances and opportunities the UFC can possibly give one fighter.

But it all starts tomorrow when he faces Clementi, an eight-year veteran with a 29-12-1 record (including a 2-3 mark in the UFC). A victory won’t get Guillard back in the title picture, but it could go a long way toward proving he’s matured as a person and fighter. If he can win the fight — and do so in a respectful and professional manner — perhaps it’ll be time to start taking Guillard seriously.

I wasn't really a Melvin fan before, he's a little too flamboyant for my liking but the kid has had to deal with some tough shit (Katrina, father's death, suspension) and I'm not a Clementi fan at all...so i'll be pulling for Melvin because i really do hope he gets his act together but he's going to have to prove to me that he's changed...talk is cheap.

[jlruthven84]

I'd respect any fighter who cleans up his act, both in and out of the octagon, and I want to give Melvin every chance in the world to do that. Still want Rich to win, though.

[whitey64]

Forget this guy, everyone talks about the touble he has outside the octagon with Katrina and whatever. The guy sniffs coke like no more than 2 days beofre hs fight with Joe Daddy and before hand he is mouthing off saying Joe does HGH....the only thing Melvin does is run his mouth and then it almost always gets shut for him. Im really surprised UFC gave him another shot after the last fight but if he loses this one he is gone for sure I would say.

[pa99fighter]

War Melvin

[terriblet]

I know Melvin has had a big mouth in the past but he's still maturing.
Hopefully he will be a little more humble this time around & maybe he will gain a few more fans. And I would certainly like to see him fight some of the
more talented LW's in the UFC. I know he's not ready for the elite of the division but maybe he could fight someone ranked around #10 next.

[blazeallwayz]

I agree Melvin should look elsewhere to fight if he drops this one, but he makes a pretty good gate keeper at 155...

I am rooting for Melvin since Clementi sounds like he still has to go through puberty...

[ArMnHC]

Melvin seems to have been maturing and learning from his mistakes. in recent interviews, he's sounded a lot more classy and mature then he has in the past. im still picking Rich to win though.

[b0sH]

To be honest I find nothing funnier than fighters running their mouths as though their the undisputed champ of the world before they've even accomplished anything.

Melvin is one of those fighters, has a bigger mouth than Tito, talked loads of shit about Stevenson and then got bitch slapped before the bell had stopped vibrating.

0 Class 0 Respect.......0 interest in watching him fight.

[Quintessential Studmuffin]

Lackluster performances,accusing others of doing drugs with no substantial evidence,talking shit on just about anyone he fights,cheap shoting Clementi over an Email fight,snorting coke less then a week before the biggest fight of his,and greasing his entire body to prevent takedowns in his fight agaisnt Huerta.

Hes got potential? Yes,potential to wind up out of a contract and in jail for a few years.

WAR CLEMENTI

[ninjastix]

Originally Posted by b0sH

To be honest I find nothing funnier than fighters running their mouths as though their the undisputed champ of the world before they've even accomplished anything.

Melvin is one of those fighters, has a bigger mouth than Tito, talked loads of shit about Stevenson and then got bitch slapped before the bell had stopped vibrating.

0 Class 0 Respect.......0 interest in watching him fight.

That's pretty much perfectly stated...