Just a few months ago it looked like Melvin Guillard was going to walk casually into the lightweight title picture, knocking out everyone he could get his hands on along the way.
Then, Joe Lauzon’s underrated striking caught “The Young Assassin” off guard and soon after he was on the ground getting choked out for the fifth time of his UFC career.
Last night’s fight with Jim Miller was a must win for Guillard if he wanted to remain relevant in the 155-lb title discussion, and for a few seconds it looked like he was going to dispose of the extremely tough veteran with little difficulty anyway.
But to Miller’s credit, his chin and his heart have more strength than most fighters, and he was able to survive the rocky moments and eventually take Guillard’s back.
Once Miller secured the hooks and got the arm under the neck, it became painfully obvious that Guillard was about to suffer yet another submission loss.
The loss puts Guillard in an awkward position in the lightweight division, and while he is no longer in title contention, he is still good enough to deserve a high level opponent and should get another tough fight in his next bout.