Lightweight Bout: Melvin Guillard vs. Jeremy Stephens
Odds: (-160 Guillard / +130 Stephens )
Betting Pick: Melvin Guillard
In the opening bout of the evening, former Ultimate Fighter contestant Melvin Guillard and tough striker Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens will duke it out in the Lightweight division. Guillard is one of the most athletic and explosive fighters in the UFC, but Stephens is a very skilled and heavy-handed veteran, so this should be a competitive fight to say the least. To make matters even more interesting, these two have engaged in an extensive war of words in the lead-up to this fight, so between their respective skills and the animosity they will be bringing into the cage, this one has definite Fight of the Night potential.
Melvin Guillard, who made his way into the UFC after a disappointing stint on the second season of The Ultimate Fighter, is as natural an athlete as there is in Mixed Martial Arts. A quality wrestler with a surplus of punching power, Guillard has a good offense which is only aided by his excellent cardio and immense physical strength. The two things that have kept Guillard from succeeding at the top level have always been his submission defense and his questionable personal decisions, including a positive drug test for cocaine following his loss to Joe Stevenson. Recently, though, Guillard has been training in New Mexico at Greg Jackson’s camp, which has led not only to his growth as a fighter, but his maturation as a human being. In recent fights Guillard has seemed far more patient and far less reckless than he did for most of his career, which can only bode well for his future. Still, he is going to have his hands full with Stephens, who has many of his same gifts and the ability to end fights in a variety of ways.
Stephens, who has had some ups and downs during his UFC stint, is nevertheless a very talented and dangerous fighter. A fairly solid wrestler with a lot of punching power and devastating ground and pound, Stephens is an up and coming talent in the packed Lightweight division. His game is not all the way there yet, but then again, neither is Guillard’s, so this is a good matchup for him.
This is a great matchup for a number of reasons. For one thing, both guys are in similar positions in that they are both very young and promising, and both of them have had mixed results so far in the UFC that make a win here very important. For another, both guys are more than willing to stand in the pocket and throw big punches, and neither guy has a very dominant ground game or wrestling, so this should be exciting. This is one of those fights that is going to come down to who can get off first and who can manage the pace of the fight best. In that regard I give the edge to Guillard. His time with Greg Jackson really seems to have matured him as a fighter, and if he doesn’t rush headlong into this fight he has all the tools to pull off a victory: great striking, decent takedown defense, and an uncanny ability to get out from underneath his opponents when he does get taken down. I expect this one to go the distance, but Guillard should control the action and land some heavy shots on his way to a unanimous decision victory.
Prediction: Melvin “The Young Assassin” Guillard via unanaimous decision.
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