Melvin Guillard, a popular if mercurial lightweight who fought 22 times for the UFC, has signed a long-term deal with the Bellator MMA promotion.
Bellator officials announced the deal Monday in a news release emailed to reporters, and the news has subsequently been covered by multiple news outlets, including MMAJunkie.com.
The deal was described as a “multi-year, multi-fight deal.” Additional details were not disclosed, though Malki Kawa, who is the brother of Guillard manager Abe Kawa, said in an interview Monday on The MMA Hour broadcast that Guillard‘s Bellator deal was actually better than previous UFC deals.
Malki Kawa on MMA Hour: Bellator gave Melvin Guillard a very fair deal. It was better than his UFC deal even coming off losses
— Jason Floyd (@Jason_Floyd) May 4, 2015
Guillard (32-14-2-2) is well known for his 21 knockout victories and a prolific fight career that belies his 32 years of age. The New Orleans native has long been admired for his talent, but underperformance in big moments and problems outside the cage have repeatedly kept a good career from being great.
After he went winless in four of five bouts in the UFC, the company released Guillard in the spring of 2014. The World Series of Fighting promotion was quick to sign him, pitting Guillard against its best lightweights. But Guillard was reluctant to reciprocate the enthusiasm.
Guillard missed weight by two pounds before his WSOF debut, a TKO win over JZ Cavalcante. Before his title fight with blue-chip prospect Justin Gaethje, Guillard said he considered himself an “A-list fighter, fighting in the B league.” He missed weight by four pounds for the contest and went on to lose by decision.
The final straw appeared to fall just a month ago, when WSOF President Ray Sefo announced Guillard‘s removal from the WSOF 20 card after Guillard and his camp failed to submit basic pre-fight information, such as medical test results.
That was a pretty clear sign Guillard was no longer interested in working with WSOF. WSOF made the feeling mutual when it released him on April 30.
Bellator has several lightweights who might be interesting tests for Guillard, including champion Will Brooks, Michael Chandler and Patricky Freire.
It’s probably safe to suspect that Guillard still views himself as an elite, UFC-level fighter. Earlier in April, before his WSOF release, he said in an interview with Submission Radio that he “might even pit stop in Bellator.”
If he wishes to return to the UFC, it stands to reason he’ll need to do more than use Bellator as another way station. He’ll need notch some good wins, which have been rare for Guillard in recent years. The last time he won two consecutive fights, the year was 2011.
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