UFC lightweight Melvin Guillard has decided to exit the Blackzilians and return to his former team under the tutelage of coach Greg Jackson.
Guillard, who had been working with the Florida-based team since the second half of 2011, announced via Twitter that he was leaving the training camp to go back to New Mexico.
The former Ultimate Fighter season 2 cast member first began working with Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn in 2009 after bouncing around several different teams since his first fights all the way back in 2002.
Under the direction of Jackson and Winkeljohn, Guillard found his greatest success inside the UFC Octagon, picking up several key wins in the division including victories over Evan Dunham, Jeremy Stephens and Shane Roller.
Just when it appeared that Guillard was on the cusp of making a run at the UFC lightweight title, he suffered a loss to Joe Lauzon at UFC 136 that derailed his championship plans.
At the time, Guillard was splitting time between the camp in New Mexico and his recently former Blackzilian team in Florida. Immediately following the loss to Lauzon, Guillard committed himself to the Blackzilian team and moved lock, stock and barrel to Florida to train there.
Guillard told MMAWeekly Radio that he had no blood leaving Jackson’s MMA, and he would always respect the trainers that got him where he was in the sport.
I didn’t leave Jackson’s in a bad way. I love those coaches to death, love that team, and if anything ever occurs and I have to go back to Jackson’s, I hope I’m still welcome, because I didn’t leave in the wrong way,” Guillard said in 2011.
“One thing my mother taught me when I was a kid growing up ‘You never leave home bad because you never know when you might need to come back through that door.’ I hope the coaches there and the team there still love for me and care for me the way they did when I was performing for them.
Following his exit from Jackson’s team, Guillard suffered a tough streak of fights in the UFC, going 1-3 over his last four fights. Currently, Guillard is suffering the ill effects of a two-fight losing streak.
Now Guillard returns to his old team at Jackson’s where his career flourished the most since he’s been in the UFC.
If he can return similar results as the last time he worked with the famed coach and his trainers in New Mexico, Guillard could quickly climb back into the top 10 of the lightweight division in the UFC.
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report
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