Kevin Randleman was special. Whether knocking kickboxing legend Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic silly with a single punch or defying physics by launching the great Fedor Emelianenko airborne with one of the most incredible throws in MMA history, Randleman was potential personified.
A former UFC heavyweight champion, despite competing as a college wrestler at just 177 pounds, Randleman’s energy and intensity could light up even the darkest room and chase away even the most persistent demons.
When he passed away last week at the age of 44, the community lost a memorable athlete. Melvin Guillard, who fights Derek Campos Friday on Spike TV, lost something more than that—he lost a mentor and a friend.
Guillard sat down with Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Snowden to discuss the life and legacy of his idol and how he intends to fight on in Randleman’s memory.
Bleacher Report: It’s been a hard few days hasn’t it?
Melvin Guillard: He was everything to me. One of the greatest guys in the world, bro. He would give you the shirt off his back. He was one of the most positive, influential people in my life. When I was going down the wrong roads, he was one of those people who pulled me back in. He was my mentor, my friend.
He was the reason I put gloves on, man. He was the guy I came up admiring and wanting to be like. Even to the point I started dyeing my hair like he did. I’m going to miss him, bro. I haven’t stopped crying since it happened. He was more than a friend; he was a big brother to me.
B/R: What did he see in you to take you under his wing the way he did?
MG: He knew I was going to put it down. I started out as a wrestler. I wasn’t a striker yet. I came up as a wrestler, state champion in high school. And I admired him then.
B/R: It seems like a lot of people did.
MG: I was talking with my coach Din Thomas about this at practice. Now, all of a sudden everyone is saying “I miss Kevin Randleman.”
But where were all these people at when he was around? He was a world champion, and nobody asked about him. Including Dana White. And he lived right there in Vegas.
Now that he’s gone, everybody feels sorry. But before, they’d walk right by him in the gym or walk right by him at a show and not even acknowledge him.
B/R: Tell me about the first time you met him. Is it true you asked his blessing to use his hairstyle in the UFC?
MG: Now that he’s gone, I can’t help thinking back on the first time I met him. I was like a kid who just saw Santa Claus for the first time. I was so lost for words, I couldn’t even get my words out.
The crazy thing is, he was actually working Joe Stevenson’s corner against me. It just got me more excited about the fight. That was when I asked him, “Bro, I look up to you, is it cool if I dye my hair like you?”
He said, “Yeah, no problem. I would love to see you do that and keep the Monster tradition alive. You remind me a lot of me when I fight.” Well, that’s what I was going for.
B/R: A lot of people remember Kevin leaping into the air like a gazelle or throwing Fedor on his head. Is there a Randleman memory that stands out for you?
MG: His fight moments, I love all of them. Even when he fought Bas Rutten. I collected them on VHS. All of his fights, he reminded me of myself. I wanted to be the next Kevin Randleman. If I could have been any fighter in the game, it was him.
When he came to fight, he came to fight. Even in the fights he lost, people talked about him like “he was kicking that guy’s ass.” And if you really look at my career, my career is the same way. There were fights I was winning that I ended up losing. We had a lot of similarities, a lot we shared.
B/R: How hard is it for you to see this fight week through? Will you be carrying this in your heart on Friday?
MG: If his wife and kids need anything, I will always be there for them. His legacy, in the cage, is going to live on through me. I’m going to make sure of that. That presence in the ring, the way he did it, it kind of got away from me for a while.
Now I’m back, I’m fresh, and every time I step into that ring, it’s going to be a tribute to him. He told me one day I would be a world champion. He saw it in me. Now, I need to win that Bellator world championship for him.
Jonathan Snowden covers combat sports for Bleacher Report.
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