Melvin Guillard’s UFC 150 fight with former friend and training partner Donald Cerrone only lasted 76 seconds. But their fight, which earned “Fight of the Night” honors, was one of the best fights of the year. That is the only upside of the f…
Melvin Guillard‘s UFC 150 fight with former friend and training partner Donald Cerrone only lasted 76 seconds.
But their fight, which earned “Fight of the Night” honors, was one of the best fights of the year.
That is the only upside of the fight for Guillard though, who lost by knockout after having Cerrone hurt early in the fight.
Guillard was looking to win back-to-back fights and prove he was ready to get back into lightweight title contention.
Instead, the former TUF competitor has lost three of his last four fights and is starting to look like he will never meet his full potential.
Guillard is a great fighter who is one of the best in the lightweight division.
But he has yet to get a good win over a top-five caliber fighter.
Guillard has faced household names like Jim Miller, Nate Diaz and Joe Lauzon, but has come up short against each man, losing by submission.
In fact, nine of Guillard‘s 11 losses have come by submission.
While it was amazing that last night’s loss was just Guillard‘s first KO loss in his 44-fight career, he has to be thinking what exactly he could have done differently.
Now Guillard is back to the drawing board in figuring out what to do next.
For once it wasn’t Guillard‘s submission defense that failed him.
Although he had Cerrone hurt and he went for the knockout, Guillard appeared to back off the pressure some.
That could have been so he wouldn’t gas himself out or that could have been because Cerrone was just that good at recovering.
Either way, Guillard is in a tough spot. While he should want to continue taking on big names, he also has to get wins.
Because Guillard is in a stacked division there are a ton of options for him as far as competition goes.
One fighter that really sticks out though is Clay Guida.
Like Guillard, Guida is a fighter who could make a great gatekeeper, but would rather think of himself as a more elite fighter.
Guida is coming off of two losses and has had some difficulty against top guys in the division.
While Guida has tried to go for the lay, pray and dash approach in his fights lately, taking on a former teammate in Guillard could bring out the excitement in Guida.
For Guillard, a win over Guida would hopefully get him back on the right track.
The tables have turned and Melvin Guillard’s back is against the wall.”The Young Assassin” was left a crumpled heap in the Octagon at UFC 150 on Saturday night after getting blasted with a straight right hand from former teammate Donald Cerrone.Unfortu…
The tables have turned and Melvin Guillard‘s back is against the wall.
“The Young Assassin” was left a crumpled heap in the Octagon at UFC 150 on Saturday night after getting blasted with a straight right hand from former teammate Donald Cerrone.
Unfortunately for Guillard, losing is becoming all too common. The New Orleans native has lost three of his last four fights. To make matters worse, all of the losses came by first-round stoppages.
Guillard has the talent to be the best lightweight in the world, but he tends to fold when faced with adversity.
It’s tough to pinpoint the root of the problems for Guillard’s technical deficiencies. His chin has appeared shaky at times and he constantly finds himself limited by subpar submission defense.
Is Guillard struggling to get the most out of his training, or could there be some mental hurdle that no one knows about?
Considering Guillard’s overwhelming potential, these are two incredibly fair questions.
Ben Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar The headliner for UFC 150 resulted in yet another controversial decision in a lightweight title fight. This time, Ben Henderson retained the title in a split decision where two judges.
Ben Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar
The headliner for UFC 150 resulted in yet another controversial decision in a lightweight title fight. This time, Ben Henderson retained the title in a split decision where two judges scored the fight 48-47 for Henderson and one score it 49-46 for Edgar. Edgar was upset with the decision after the fight and the internet consensus has Edgar winning the fight. I scored the fight 48-47 for Edgar but I don’t have a problem with the outcome at all and I don’t think saying that Edgar was “robbed” is an accurate assessment as many are claiming.
Henderson clearly won the first round and everyone is in agreement on that. He employed the unique strategy of attacking Edgar’s calf with kicks to slow the contender’s movement and had great success in doing so. Edgar’s calf was swollen and bruised by the end of the round. The former champion came back in the second round and evened up the scoring by knocking Henderson down with a clean right hand and then trying to finish with a front guillotine. The scoring on this round is also not in doubt but starting with the third round, judging became absurdly subjective. The final three rounds were some of the most difficult to score in any recent fight. Both fighters landed at various times but neither landed anything significant. Edgar seemed to be moving forward and bringing the fight to Henderson but compustrike showed that Henderson outlanded Edgar in significant strikes. On the other hand, Edgar won the takedown battle. Add that up and you get a judging nightmare. Boxing has long had an unwritten rule that the champion gets the nod if the fight is too close to score and that may have been what happened in this fight.
Scoring aside, Henderson leaves this fight as the champion and he will fight Nate Diaz next. Diaz has patiently been awaiting his opportunity and he will be rewarded with a title shot as promised. For Edgar, the loss has to be gutting but he is still one of the best fighters in the division. A fight with either Donald Cerrone of Anthony Pettis would make sense and a win against either would likely catapult him right back into top contendership. And of course, an immediate title shot awaits him if he ever decides to drop to featherweight, which he could easily do.
Donald Cerrone vs. Melvin Guillard
In the clear fight of the night, Donald Cerrone came back from being hurt early to knockout Melvin Guillard. And the entire fight lasted seventy six seconds. In the opening exchange, Guillard landed a counter left hook to Cerrone’s jaw and dropped him. Guillard rushed forward and flurried for the finish as Cerrone backed up toward to the cage. But Guillard was unable to end the fight and backed up to reset. Almost immediately upon reentering the pocket, Cerrone landed a kick just above Guillard’s temple. As Guillard wobbled, Cerrone rushed in and landed a right hand that turned out Guillard’s lights for at least a minute. If I have ever have seventy six seconds to kill, I’m not sure I could think of a better way to spend it than rewatching this fight.
The loss is a set back for Guillard and his chances of getting back into the title picture seem unlikely at this point. Despite that, he is always one of the most entertaining fighters in the division and because of that, he will always have a place in the UFC. Cerrone has now won six of his seven fights in the UFC with his only loss coming to title contender Nate Diaz. The lightweight division is absurdly stacked but he deserves to be on the fighters at the top of the stack. He, Anthony Pettis and Frankie Edgar seem to be the top three fighters outside of the champion Ben Henderson and Diaz. Hopefully, Cerrone will face either Pettis or Edgar in his next fight and either one of those fights would be guaranteed fireworks.
Jake Shields vs. Ed Herman
Jake Shields impressed no one by grinding out another unimpressive decision over Ed Herman. Herman actually won the first round by pushing Shields against the fence and controlling position. He never threatened the former Strikeforce champion but he did enough to win the round. That strategy came back to bite him in the second round as Shields used the clinch against the cage to score a takedown and controlled Herman from top position for the remainder of the round. He landed no significant strikes and his most threatening attack of the round was a weak kimura attempt. Herman learned from his mistake in the second round and came out looking to keep his distance and strike with Shields in the third round. But Shields managed to close the distance and repeated his performance from the previous round to earn the decision.
Ed Herman is basically the same fighter he’s always been. He has some dangerous submissions but lacks a striking game to support his grappling. Against the right opponent, he can provide exciting fights but he doesn’t present much of a threat at 185 lbs. Shields continues to be a bit of an enigma since coming to the UFC. He defeated Dan Henderson and that can’t be ignored but he also struggled with Ed Herman, which is not the mark of a great fighter. I don’t think the UFC can justify giving him a top tier fighter after that performance but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him matched with Yushin Okami after they both earned victories at UFC 150.
Yushin Okami vs. Buddy Roberts
This fight was a much of a mismatch in the cage as it was on paper. Roberts managed to land a few punches early in the first round but once Okami decided to take the fight to the ground, it was over. Roberts seemed to know that his only chance was to score a knockout and threw wild power shots at Okami through the early part of the first round. He landed a few but Okami was never in danger. Eventually, Okami tired of the striking and clinched with Roberts. From there, he dragged him to the mat and quickly passed to mount. Roberts gave up his back and Okami used the position to ground and pound Roberts who seemed ready to give up before the bell sounded. The second round was similar except that Okami didn’t wait to clinch and drag Roberts to the mat. Instead, he did it early in the round and once again ended up back mounted on Roberts throwing punches. Roberts seemed to accept his fate and covered up waiting for the fight to be stopped, which it was.
Roberts clearly doesn’t have what it takes to compete at the top of the division and is a middling middleweight at best. But Okami needed a fight like this to prove that he is still a dominant fighter. A loss to the best pound for pound fighter in the world followed by a crazy knockout loss in a fight he was dominating don’t mean that Okami is done. He deserves to be competing at the top of the division and should get a contender in his next fight.
Max Holloway vs. Justin Lawrence
UFC 150 started with an excellent striking display by Max Holloway and Justin Lawrence. In the first round, Lawrence landed the majority of the power strikes. He spent the round head hunting in search of the knockout. He managed to land a couple of clean punches but never seemed to have Holloway in major trouble. Despite that, he definitely looked to be the more dangerous fighter. The second round began in similar fashion but Holloway showed why his brand of Muay Thai is the most dangerous standup attack in the sport. Despite Lawrence’s power, Holloway stuck to his technical approach and eventually scored the finish in true Muay Thai fashion. He landed a knee to the liver and followed it closely with a right to the body and a left hook to the liver. Clean punches to the chin aren’t the only way to end a fight and Holloway proved that by decimating Lawrence to the body. The liver shots rendered him unable to do anything other than curl up in a fetal position and Holloway pounced with a flurry to finish the fight. His performance was a tribute to trusting technique over power and should serve as a reminder to the rest of the MMA world as to how effective body work can be with four ounce gloves.
For Lawrence, the loss is a set back but he put on a good enough show to prove that he has a future in the sport. After only five career fights, he will certainly improve going forward and will likely be given a winnable fight in his next appearance. Holloway now has back to back wins and at just twenty years old, seems to have a bright future. If the UFC is smart, they will not rush him into fights against more experienced opponents and allow him to continue to work on his game against other young fighters. He is only in the UFC because he was able to step in as a last minute replacement against Dustin Poirier and he is not yet ready for the upper or even middle levels of the featherweight division. Hopefully, the UFC will be smart and give him another similarly inexperienced prospect in his fight and allow him to continue to grow.
Donald Cerrone battled Ultimate Fighter star Melvin Guillard in the evening’s co-main event. Both men were in the hunt for the belt in 2011, but losses shut down their momentum. Looking for their second win in 2012, the bout between lightweig…
Donald Cerrone battled Ultimate Fighter star Melvin Guillard in the evening’s co-main event. Both men were in the hunt for the belt in 2011, but losses shut down their momentum. Looking for their second win in 2012, the bout between lightweight contenders is one we will remember for a long time.
As former training partners under Greg Jackson, Cerrone and Guillard have spent a lot of time training together, and Cerrone reportedly got the better of those encounters.
What We’ll Remember about This Fight:
The excitement. Guillard hurt Cerrone badly early in the first round, and Cowboy showed his ability to fight through adversity with a major head kick. One big punch later and it’s all over, only 1:16 into the first round.
What We Learned about Donald Cerrone:
The amazing finishing power of Donald Cerrone. We all knew that he was a dangerous creature on the ground, but to knock out a brilliant striker like Guillard is an incredible feat.
What We Learned about Melvin Guillard:
That submissions aren’t the only way he can lose. We can’t forget that his loss to Joe Lauzon was technically by submission, although a big punch wobbled Guillard and set it all up.
What’s Next for Donald Cerrone:
Anthony Pettis. Cerrone wants this fight, and he earned it with this performance tonight.
What’s Next for Melvin Guillard:
A record of 1-3 in his last few fights, plus missing weight for tonight’s contest are not factors that shine in his favor. Stepping up on short notice against an elite fighter will keep him off of the chopping block, but he will likely get a big step down in competition.
Melvin should fight someone like Terry Etim or Jamie Varner in his next fight.
Donald Cerrone was viewed as a heavy favorite going in to his bout with Melvin Guillard at UFC 150, and he didn’t disappoint, knocking out his opponent just over one minute into the fight. It was an important fight for both guys, as they look to move b…
Donald Cerrone was viewed as a heavy favorite going in to his bout with Melvin Guillard at UFC 150, and he didn’t disappoint, knocking out his opponent just over one minute into the fight.
It was an important fight for both guys, as they look to move back up the ladder in the competitive division after recent losses. Cerrone had dropped a fight to Nate Diaz while Guillard lost to Jim Miller and Joe Lauzon.
But only one of them could walk out of the Octagon with the victory, and Cerrone was the one who stepped up to earn it. He has now won two consecutive fights after knocking off Jeremy Stephens back in May.
Cerrone was almost exclusively a submission specialist in the early portion of his MMA career, and while that’s obviously still a big part of his approach, he’s added more versatility recently to make him a tougher fighter to face.
It’s the type of adjustment that should help the 29-year-old American have a much better chance to make his way up the lightweight ranks. One-dimensional fighters can survive for a while, but as the competition gets tougher, it’s difficult to win with a singular approach.
Give credit to Cerrone for recognizing that and working to get better. It’s still a work in progress, but he’s trending in the right direction once again.
The news isn’t so positive for Guillard. He’s now lost three of his past four fights and none of them came against truly elite competition. Every loss digs a bigger hole he will eventually have to get out of at some point.
It was a tough matchup for him, but the good fighters always find a way to win even when the opponent’s strengths are an issue. Guillard wasn’t able to do that on Saturday night.
Although he has plenty of talent, as he has shown throughout his career, he seems to have hit a lull recently and can’t figure out a way to end it. He has to adjust his approach in one way or another to start getting back in the win column consistently.
Cerrone made sure he wasn’t able to start any type of winning streak at UFC 150 and should emerge as one of the night’s biggest winners.
The 150th UFC PPV takes place at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado, which means tonight’s drinking game will lead you to the ER with liver poisoning as Joe and Goldie talk about the altitude. Headlining the card is the rematch to end all rematches when former WEC standout and current UFC lightweight champion, Benson Henderson squares off against Frankie “The Answer” Edgar.
Also on the broadcast is the front-runner to win Fight of the Night honors when Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone locks horns with Melvin Guillard. I’m told that Jake Shields and Yushin Okami are scheduled to fight Ed Hermann and Buddy Roberts respectively, and that’s totally cool, But you’re only buying this card for one reason: to see if the gold changes hands at the end of the night.
“Live” (emphasis on the quotation marks) round-by-round results from the Henderson – Edgar 2 pay-per-view main card will be piling up after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT, courtesy of Jason Moles. Refresh the page every few minutes hours for all the latest, and please toss in your own inebriated thoughts in the comments section.
The 150th UFC PPV takes place at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado, which means tonight’s drinking game will lead you to the ER with liver poisoning as Joe and Goldie talk about the altitude. Headlining the card is the rematch to end all rematches when former WEC standout and current UFC lightweight champion, Benson Henderson squares off against Frankie “The Answer” Edgar.
Also on the broadcast is the front-runner to win Fight of the Night honors when Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone locks horns with Melvin Guillard. I’m told that Jake Shields and Yushin Okami are scheduled to fight Ed Hermann and Buddy Roberts respectively, and that’s totally cool, But you’re only buying this card for one reason: to see if the gold changes hands at the end of the night.
“Live” (emphasis on the quotation marks) round-by-round results from the Henderson – Edgar 2 pay-per-view main card will be piling up after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT, courtesy of Jason Moles. Refresh the page every few minutes hours for all the latest, and please toss in your own inebriated thoughts in the comments section.
Let’s get this started, shall we?
Justin Lawrence vs. Max Holloway
Round 1: Holloway’s crotch says, “BUY MY SHORTS.” Don’t ask me why that’s the first thing I noticed about him. Feeling out process ended with a few kicks from Lawrence. Nice high kick from Holloway. Both trade a few nice punches. Lawrence seems to be landing more strikes. %$#&!!! Holloway just drilled “The All American Kid” All- American nuts! Okay, just walk it off. Lawrence pushing forward and gets the takedown. Right back up. Lawrence is bleeding. Holloway lands a knee to the chin. Swing and a miss by Holloway. 13-12 Significant strikes favoring Lawrence. Holloway drills him in the balls again as the end of round horn sounds.
Round 2: Stick and move by Holloway. The men both trade snapping kicks. Lawrence with a lot of front kicks, sidekicks. Crowd starting to boo but it dies down. Holloway lands a clean right hand. Holloway demonstrating very nice counter punching — stuffs a takedown as well. Lawrence landing 47% of his strikes. Stick and move by both men. Holloway stuffs a takedown my grandmother could have seen, and she’s got cataracts. Now he tags Lawrence which leads to an opening for a deep knee to the gut. Left hook to the liver and “It’s all over!!!”
Winner Max Holloway Rd. 2 TKO
Up Next – Yushin Okami vs. Buddy Roberts
Buddy Roberts walking out to ‘Bleed It Out’ by Linkin Park. Yushin on the other hand… Holy $%&@! Is that Tank Abbott??? Nope, he’s sober.
Round 1: Roberts comes out swinging. Looking for a head kick. Okami lands a nice left. Buddy keeps connecting with the jab. Okami just got clipped. Roberts landing knees from the clinch. Okami tries and fails twice to get the takedown from the clinch against the cage. Okami finally drags him down,. takes his back, transitions to his guard. Okami in half guard, not much action. Crowd boos on cue. Yushin in side mount with arm control and lands a few shots. Okami in full mount, takes the back, lands a few shots to the back of the head but Herb doesn’t seem to mind. A bunch more punches and the horn sounds.
Round 2: Buddy goes forward and slips on the mat. Lands a shot once he recovers. Okami with a straight left. Clinches and tries to drag him down. Success. Buddy transitions into a guillotine. Back on their feet. Okami nails a double leg. Moves into half guard. Looking to utilize elbows, looks some more… Full mount by “Thunder” and Buddy rolls over on his belly. Okami just keeps punching him in the skull. Herb calls it.
Winner: Yushin Okami – Rd. 2 – TKO
Better grab a Mt. Dew and a handful of Yellow Jackets before Jake Shields middleweight debut against Ed Herman.
Herman walking out wearing a Dethrone hoodie. His music sucks, but his bobcat shirt makes up for it. Man, I almost forgot how pale redheads are. Shields walks out to what sounds like The Glitch Mob dubstep remix of Seven Nation Army. My wife says his nipples are really “pokie” – like they’ve been stretched. Wow – Rashad really wasn’t joking around when he said you’d notice a difference.
Round 1: Shields immediately throws a kick. Both men attacking. Herman goes for takedown, Shields hip tosses him. Back on the feet. Clinched and they both trade blows. Herman lands a knee. Shields gets the trip takedown. Ground and pound from Jake. Both men back up, dirty boxing along the fence. These guys have separation issues. Jake has a sponsor sticker for a radiator company. Nice elbow by Herman. Jake looking for the guillotine. *yawn* Thank God the fans can boo for me. Finally some action – that guys claps the 2×4′s together to signal 10 seconds left.
Round 2: Looks, I can text the UFC who I want to win. Nice. More kicks by Shields. Herman initiates the clinch again. Take down – Shields on top in half guard, now side control. Working for a kimura.
Sorry guys, @#&^$@*$^#*(# internet! Sorry.
Round 3 almost over – Shields has been dominating Herman on the ground for most of it. Shields in full mount. Herman trying to score pints off his back, but he’s no Miguel Torres. Shields lands more and more punches as the crowd boos louder. Both men swinging but it’s all over. The judges will decide who moves forward…. but the fans are not impressed with their performance.
Winner: Jake Shields by Unanimous decision.
Coming up next: Former teamates and BFF’s, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Melvin “I don’t care if I’m indoors, I’m wearing my damn sunglasses anyway!” Guillard.
Denver crowd tried to snatch the infamous sunglasses of Guillard. #fail – Apparently being a Blackzillian automatically gets you a Pretorian sponsorship. *Cue Kid Rock music* Here comes Cowboy, baby. The TapouT cowboy hat looked much better than this Muscle Pharm stuff. Cerrone looks happier than a pig in, well, you get the point.
Round 1: “Taller is Cerrone”, says Mike Goldberg. Guillard gets booed heavily as Buffer introduces him. Remember, it’s not because Denver is racist, it’s because they love them some homegrown talent – and Cerrone is home. Cowboy quick on the offensive with a head kick. Guillard is beating the living daylights outta Cerrone!!!!! Punches in bunches AND a knee to the midsection. Dang! Okay, he looks shocked but he;s good now. Damn! Now Cowboy lands a head kick followed up by a hard right hand and Guillard is asleep!!! When will he ever learn that sunglasses are unnecessary indoors?
Winner: Donald Cerrone – Rd. 1 KO
Craziest fight of the year? Yeah, I think so. They both hug it out, now that “The Young Assassin” has come to. I would pay to be at their after party.
Main Event Time: Benson “Smooth” Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar
Frankie runs to the Octagon, gets greased up -legally, not the Anderson Silva way. Like a leprechaun who’s been had, he wants his gold back. Ben is strutting his way to the prep point. The champ’s calm and focused. It’s Time!
Round 1: Edgar in the black/red trunks littered with sponsors. Henderson must have sponsored himself because his upper body is plastered on his poster… oh yeah, tighties for the champ. Empty jabs by Henderson. Egdar landing a few shots, most noticeably a left hand. Leg kick by Smooth. Edgar nearly looses his balance after Henderson kicks his leg again. Another one and he’s down. Scrambled to the feet. Edgar returns the favor and throws a leg kick. Frankie’s left calf is swollen and red. Both men throwing combos, landing shots here and there. Frankie lands a leg kick. Edgar catches the leg kick this time, takedown but the champ locks in a guillotine. Remember how many times Frankie caught kicks last time? Round over.
Nate Diaz in attendance.
Round 2: 12-8 Sig strikes in favor of the champ for round 1. Another leg kick by Smooth and Edgar drops to a knee but recovers. Frankie feints a takedown. Lands a punch. Leg kick and a hook for Edgar. Both guys switching stance. Leg kick by the champ. Edgar drops Henderson with a wicked uppercut. Looking to sink in the choke. Smooth works up to his feet. but Frankie still has a hold of him. Henderson keeping a hand on the ground to avoid knees. Edgar is bleeding. Separation! Henderson misses a big axe kick. Then shoots but is stuffed by Frankie. Big body kick by the champ the the horn.
Round 3: Half landed/half blocked head kick by Benson. Lots of jabs by him as well, most hit air. Frankie lands a leg kick. Ben returns the favor and charges. very nice jab by Benson. Both men exchange blows. Champ telegraphs a head kick. Edgar ducks. Same for his right hard. More of the same – I hit you, you hit me. Repeat. Still no mention of altitude – my drinking game sucks – I can still see the keys clearly. The champ tries to Sweet Chin Music the former champ – misses. 20-16 sig strikes so far in favor of Smooth. Champ charges and Frankie Edgar tries to hit HBK’s finisher as the horn sounds.
Championship rounds, deep water, point of no return, etc….
Round 4: Guys are just banging. Leg kicks, straight punches, more leg kicks – it’s all here. Neither man looks to have a significant advantage, both are active. Edgar gets a takedown. Big kick from the ground and Ben is back up. Until he Frankie locks in the choke. Leaning on the champ is Edgar. Applying pressure on the choke. Now they stand. Crowd’s chant is inaudible. Henderson lands a jab that knocks Edgar’s mouthpiece out. TIME OUT! Okay, back to work. Leg kick by Frankie is beautiful. My face hurts from watching all of these punches. Edgar catches ANOTHER kick. and Keeps it standing. Horn.
Round 5: Edgar’s corner tells him to punch him against the cage. Edgar’s footwork prevents being kicked in the lead leg again. Nice shots by the NJ native. Champ is fighting like he’s already won… Edgar is hungry. Crowd chants, “Frankie!” Caught another kick did Frankie. Puts a right hand on his face. Keeps attacking with combos. Now the champ looks to score points with a few jabs. Edgar’s counter striking is impressive. Frankie hits a nice leg kick. One minute left!!! Nice body shot by Edgar. Champ comes forward, lands s shot. Both are going at it now. End of fight.. Judges will now calculate the scores, correctly, we hope.
And the winner is…..
Ben HendersonFrankie Edgar by unanimous decisionsplit decision!
The crowd is NOT happy. “I fight for you guys! I try to finish fights!” -Henderson.
Edgar says he’s not sure if he’ll go back and watch this fight again. Dude looks heartbroken. Fans love him though.
Melvin Guillard‘s UFC 150 fight with former friend and training partner Donald Cerrone only lasted 76 seconds. 
