Tag: Melvin Guillard

Melvin Guillard Exclusive: A Man Living in Memory of His Father

Losing a loved one can be the hardest thing for an individual to deal with. For UFC lightweight, Melvin Guillard, words can’t describe what he went through as he said goodbye to his father prior to making his UFC debut. Guillard’s father never missed a…

Losing a loved one can be the hardest thing for an individual to deal with.

For UFC lightweight, Melvin Guillard, words can’t describe what he went through as he said goodbye to his father prior to making his UFC debut. Guillard’s father never missed a fight and got to witness his son become one of the most dangerous fighters in the world.

While Guillard’s father is no longer with us today, his spirit remains alive. Every time Melvin enters the Octagon, he knows his father is with him.

In a recent interview with Bleacher Report, Guillard shared memories of his father and discussed a variety of other topics.

 

Garrett Derr: I know you’re from New Orleans and a diehard Saints fan. What’s your take on the whole bounty incident and how everything has unfolded?
 
Melvin Guillard: It’s messed up, man. When people do things, they got to pay the consequences. Me personally, I don’t think the Saints are the only team who had the bounty programs. I know a lot of NFL fans and I spoke to former NFL players, and they said there has been bounties for as long as they can remember.

Not to the extent for what the Saints are being looked at under the radar for. It is what it is. I don’t see anything wrong with paying anyone extra for playing hard, but for trying to hurt someone is messed up. Paying someone to play hard and put it all on the long, I don’t see anything wrong in that aspect.

We won a Super Bowl not too long ago, and now this. It will hurt, but we’ve been through worse. They might still make the playoffs. There’s a good possibility that they can. I love the city of New Orleans and wouldn’t change it for the world.

 

GD: You’re coming off back-to-back losses with the latest coming to Jim Miller. Talk me through that loss. What was running through your mind at the time?

MG: I was over it shortly after it happen. I realized that I made a mistake. I had him hurt and I didn’t jump on him. I had him down twice in the fight and didn’t jump on him. I didn’t take advantage of that small window of opportunity. But when the fight was over, I congratulated him.

He was the better guy that night, and I was over it and ready to go again. It’s been a while since I last fought back in January. I’ve been holding out these past two months because I enjoy fighting around the Fourth of July. If it wasn’t for that, I would have been back sooner.

 

GD: One of the things that your dad said to you before passing was, “Son, never make excuses.” And you haven’t. How has your dad’s spirit remained with you? Are you constantly thinking about him every day and when you take the Octagon?
 
MG: Oh man. I think about my dad every day. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about him. There are so many things that remind me of him every day. It’s hard not to think about him. My dad was a great guy, and I wish he was still here. As sick as he was, I know he’s in a better place.

He’s always with me. Through all the good times and the hard times. One thing I always remember him telling me was that I’m a man now. He told me it’s time to grow up and take care of my family. That’s what I do. I take care of my mom and my family. Even when I was being a little knucklehead and messing up, I was still taking care of my family. That will never change.

I know he’s proud of me. He’s always looking down on me, and he’s my biggest fan. He never missed a fight of mine. He got sick right before I got into the UFC, so he never got to see me in the UFC. If there’s one thing I could ever have, it would be to have had him there. But, he’s with me every time I fight.

 

GD: You’ll be meeting Fabricio Camoes at UFC 148. This guy is 1-1-1 in the UFC. You have 10 wins in the UFC. Did you consider this a big step down in competition?

MG: No, not at all. Sometimes the record doesn’t mean anything to a certain extent. I’m a fighter, and I go in there to fight. Whoever you tell me to fight, I’m going to fight. It doesn’t matter to me if a guy is 0-10 or 10-0. Any guy can beat anyone on any given day. It can be a new guy coming in and beating a veteran guy. I’ve seen it happen in the UFC.

I enjoy fights like this. These are the fights I wake up for every morning. These are the fights that don’t have added stress. Going up against Jim Miller, I wasn’t overly nervous, but I was still a little nervous. I was nervous to the extent that I wanted to make sure that I performed to my best ability.

I’m not looking past this guy, because this is how guys like him make their name off guys like me. With a win over me, it catapults him into the limelight. I don’t want to ever be a stepping stone for anyone. I’ve always been the guy who people brought the opponent in for me. They are bringing him into my house to fight me.

 

GD: What can we expect to see in this bout?

MG: I’m looking for a three-round beat-down. I’m looking to beat him up for three straight rounds. I definitely want to be the bully in this fight. If I end up knocking him out and finishing him, then great. In the words of coach Greg Jackson, when you knock a guy out, you want to be shocked and surprised that you knocked him out.

That’s how I go into every fight now. That’s how I enter every fight from here on out. I want to finish because that’s who I am, but if I got to beat him up for three rounds, then the fans will get 15 minutes of entertainment. My coach always tells me, you got 15 minutes to beat this guy up. That isn’t enough time for me.

 

GD: When you guys finish up, Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen will meet for what many consider the most anticipated rematch ever. Who wins this fight and why?

MG: You know what, Anderson is my favorite middleweight of all time. I knew Anderson Silva before he came into the UFC and before people knew who he was. I’m definitely pulling for Anderson. I’m also a fan of Chael Sonnen. He’s a great guy and I know him personally. I think there is a lot of bad blood, and with everything that’s been said, Anderson is going to take this a little more personal.

Chael has been a little disrespect not only to him, but the Brazilian culture. I think he went a little overboard. I think we’re going to see the best Anderson Silva of all time. I think he’s going to finish him in the first three rounds. I could see him finishing, even before the third round. TKO or KO in the second round is my official prediction.

 
 
GD: You now have 10 wins inside the Octagon and you’re only 29 years old. I know you plan to fight a long, long time. Randy Couture fought until he was in his late 40s So, if you have 10 wins now, do you believe you have a chance of beating the UFC record of 18 set by Matt Hughes?

MG: I do. Definitely, man. The last time I checked, I was third all time with knockouts in the UFC. Anderson Silva, Chuck Liddell, then me. I was only one fight off from Chuck. Breaking records is cool, but it’s all about being in the UFC and competing.

It’s my childhood dream, and not everyone can wake up and say they are living out their dream. People go to college to get jobs, and that’s not even their passion. Fighting is my passion and I love to fight. I hope for a lot more wins and not too many losses. I want to keep going as long as my body allows. If the good Lord keeps blessing me, I will.

 

GD: I understand you’re a gamer. So, what’s the best video game on the market right now?

MG: Right now, I’m all about Modern Warfare 3. I’m about to get on there right now actually [laughs]. It’s got to be Modern Warfare. I got all of them and the Black Ops. I got all the UFC games and I was on the last one. I love to play Modern Warfare online though.

 

GD: Are you one of those guys talking trash on there?

MG: [laughs] I don’t like to talk trash or rub them guys the wrong way. Some of these guys are Internet heroes and Internet tough guys. You have grown men and 10-year-olds arguing, and the 10-year-old gets the best of the man. It’s the funniest thing ever, but it happens a lot.

 

GD: I know you’re a pretty thankful man. Who would you like to thank?

MG: I want to thank my wife for being there and being there from the very beginning. She’s been through a lot of hot water, and she’s always stuck by me. My mom and my family have also been there throughout my whole career. Also my agent, Glenn Robinson.

A special shout out to my sponsor Harvey Sharp. That guy has been with me since I was 16 years old. He’s always been in my corner. He was with me when I buried my dad. I have a special place in my heart for that man.

 

Garrett Derr is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand.

For additional information, follow Garrett Derr on Twitter.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

[VIDEO] Melvin Manhoef’s Rubber-Legged Doppleganger Spotted Knocking Out Fools in the UK


(An audience member snapped this photo at the exact moment of the knockout.) 

There has been a lot of talk over the past few weeks in regards to “bath salts” an their effect on the human body. A friend of mine described them as “meth on PCP,” and said that they tend to make one feel “like Superman on a Chris Benoit-esque roid rage,” with side effects ranging from hallucinations, paranoia, and wet farts all the way to the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound and absorb a speeding bullet without batting an eye. Let’s just say that he’s “a doctor.”

Well, after watching Galore Bosando’s recent destruction of Wendle Lewis at a May 26th UCMMA event in London, I can only assume that we have witnessed the first case of bath salt abuse in MMA. Because there is no other logical explanation as to how exactly Bosando was able to deliver such an onslaught of spinning kick attacks, combining an inhuman level of flexibility with an, and I use this term at the risk of sounding racist, “explosiveness” that just doesn’t seem attainable without a narcotic level stimulant running through one’s veins.

Welterweights of the greater London area take notice, because it appears that Melvin Guillard and Melvin Manhoef mixed their DNA in a petri dish, combined it with 4 pounds of C-4, and mailed it to England in a bag full of hammers. The resulting explosion created Galore Basando.

Video after the jump. 


(An audience member snapped this photo at the exact moment of the knockout.) 

There has been a lot of talk over the past few weeks in regards to “bath salts” an their effect on the human body. A friend of mine described them as “meth on PCP,” and said that they tend to make one feel “like Superman on a Chris Benoit-esque roid rage,” with side effects ranging from hallucinations, paranoia, and wet farts all the way to the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound and absorb a speeding bullet without batting an eye. Let’s just say that he’s “a doctor.”

Well, after watching Galore Bosando’s recent destruction of Wendle Lewis at a May 26th UCMMA event in London, I can only assume that we have witnessed the first case of bath salt abuse in MMA. Because there is no other logical explanation as to how exactly Bosando was able to deliver such an onslaught of spinning kick attacks, combining an inhuman level of flexibility with an, and I use this term at the risk of sounding racist, “explosiveness” that just doesn’t seem attainable without a narcotic level stimulant running through one’s veins.

Welterweights of the greater London area take notice, because it appears that Melvin Guillard and Melvin Manhoef mixed their DNA in a petri dish, combined it with 4 pounds of C-4, and mailed it to England in a bag full of hammers. The resulting explosion created Galore Basando.

Check out the MMA equivalent of Shaolin Soccer below.


(Things start to get interesting around the 8 minute mark.) 

Currently 3-1 as a professional, with his only loss coming by way of DQ (illegal knee), Bosando is definitely an up and comer to keep an eye out for. Of course, being that he’s from the other side of the pond, having him face a wrestler would give us a much better picture of just where he’s at as a mixed martial artist. In either case, his ability to use his kicks as jabs and keep his opponents at a distance ala Dennis Siver is impressive as anything you’re going to see today. Unless you decide to try out bath salts, in which case, make sure to avoid the Pterodactyls on Mount Crom, because those sonsabitches are vicious.

–J. Jones

Melvin Guillard Says He’s Going to Be the UFC Lightweight Champion

Melvin Guillard may lack any semblance of a real jiu-jitsu game, but one thing he doesn’t lack is confidence.The charismatic lightweight is riding a two-fight losing streak to Joe Lauzon and Jim Miller. Both losses came by rear-naked choke, and both ha…

Melvin Guillard may lack any semblance of a real jiu-jitsu game, but one thing he doesn’t lack is confidence.

The charismatic lightweight is riding a two-fight losing streak to Joe Lauzon and Jim Miller. Both losses came by rear-naked choke, and both happened in under three minutes.

You’d think that would cause Guillard to sit back and eat a slice of humble pie, but you’d be wrong. Guillard still thinks he’s going to be lightweight champion: 

“Not really. I’m content with what’s going on. You know you just have to keep working hard and keep training and keep on getting better. The more time I put in it just puts me closer to my goal and that’s being the champion. I believe I can be champion at 155. There’s no point for me to run to another weight class, I’m gonna be champion at 155.”

I like this attitude. After Guillard’s loss to Lauzon, he essentially pretended it never happened, telling the world that he and Miller were the two best lightweights in the world and that he viewed it as a championship fight. He said this after losing his last fight in under one minute. 

And now he’s saying the same kind of things despite losing two in a row. You’ve gotta respect that kind of resolve. And I’m not saying that Guillard can’t be champion, someday; he’s obviously one of the most incredible athletic talents in the sport, with the kind of speed that can wilt just about anyone he faces.

But he’ll never be the champ if he doesn’t take some time and shore up his jiu-jitsu game. And given that we’ve never seen him actually focus on that—he tends to laugh off his submission-defense deficiencies whenever they’re brought up in interviews—I don’t have high hopes that he’ll eventually learn his lesson and do the one thing he needs to do in order to compete with the real top guys in the division.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Melvin Guillard: Slumping Contender or Scatterbrained Underachiever?

Melvin Guillard isn’t that good.Doesn’t that seem impossible? Melvin’s hands are cocked and loaded—certified weapons. The former cokehead possesses blinding speed and pinpoint accuracy with his striking, a rare mix that reminds me of…

Melvin Guillard isn’t that good.

Doesn’t that seem impossible? Melvin’s hands are cocked and loaded—certified weapons. The former cokehead possesses blinding speed and pinpoint accuracy with his striking, a rare mix that reminds me of a certain arachnid in the middleweight division.

But Melvin Guillard will never seriously contend for a title, let alone garner the success Anderson Silva has. Despite his God-given athleticism, “The Young Assassin” is resigned to mediocrity.   

Guillard has amassed 11 wins in the octagon against six losses, a “good” record. People with the athletic talent of Melvin Paul Guillard Jr. are supposed to do better than “good.”

At times, he channels his inner beast: He’s finished 19 of his 29 victories by (T)KO. Frankly, he makes fighters who try to stand with him look meek and stupid. But if the UFC was an idiot contest, Melvin would win. Hands down.

All six of Melvin’s defeats in the UFC have come by way of submission. He’s just not up to par with his ground skills. He looks like a child when his fights hit the mat, even after 17 UFC bouts. He serves his neck and limbs on a platter to hungry submission sharks, without fail.

Okay, so he’s not especially well-rounded, but he even sets the table for his limb-hungry foes. In his last fight with Jim Miller, he attempted three telegraphed flying knees in the first round, begging to be taken down, and choked. Miller obliged after being lit up like a lamp the entire first round.

Melvin, learn how to win. You don’t need a highlight-reel KO to move up the lightweight ladder.

Guillard is booked for a fight with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt/gorilla Fabricio Camoes at UFC 148, on the undercard. UFC executives are implicitly begging him to train his submission defense.

Melvin has the gifts needed to shine in the octagon. But until he trains his grappling or learns to avoid his weaknesses, Melvin will never reach UFC gold.  

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Crazy Story of the Day: Stephan Bonnar Detained in Bahrain, Bitten by Camel Spider


(Nope. Nothing suspicious here.) 

Fact: Next to the DMV and Detroit, airports are the most terrible places on the face of our dying planet. Fact: Stephan Bonnar is a dog-fighting, gun-toting, BAMF who is not afraid to to stare Death in the eyes and wipe that bitchy smirk off his face. Being the “gives not a fuck” type of guy that “The American Pyscho” is, the MMA apparel company he co-founded, NGAUGE, have found themselves in quite a bit of hot water lately, mainly due to the “gives not a fuck” attitude of their “Trash Talkin Kids” t-shirt line. Perhaps you’ve heard of it.

After getting into a little legal tossup with Josh Koscheck last summer, you would probably think that Bonnar’s t-shirt based troubles were over. You would be wrong, and I would implore you to stop being so Goddamn ignorant.

You see, alongside Rich Franklin and Keith Jardine, Bonnar was kind enough to travel all the way to Bahrain to visit some of the U.S. Troops recently. He was likely charming, and he likely brightened their day. But proving that no good deed goes unpunished, on Bonnar’s way out of the country, he was detained by airport security, interrogated for over a day, and bitten by a poisonous camel spider before finally being allowed to leave. Why, you ask? Because apparently airport security didn’t appreciate the subtlety of the Melvin Guillard “Young Assassin” shirt that Bonnar was wearing.

He recounted the ridiculous story on Tuesday’s episode of Inside MMA: 

We’re getting ready to leave Bahrain, and I get detained at the airport. Jardine and Franklin get on the flight, and they take me in the room. They’re asking me all these questions, and they’re furious. One guy’s comin’ in the room and pointin’ at me, all furious, like that. And, what I think is that, I had on the ‘Young Assassin’ shirt, with Melvin Guillard, and there’s a guy with a turban with his brains spillin’ out. I don’t think they liked that too much.

Check out more from Bonnar’s interview, along with a nasty photo of the spider bite and two video updates taken by Bonnar himself while the ordeal was occurring, after the jump.


(Nope. Nothing suspicious here.) 

Fact: Next to the DMV and Detroit, airports are the most terrible places on the face of our dying planet. Fact: Stephan Bonnar is a dog-fighting, gun-toting, BAMF who is not afraid to to stare Death in the eyes and wipe that bitchy smirk off his face. Being the “gives not a fuck” type of guy that “The American Pyscho” is, the MMA apparel company he co-founded, NGAUGE, have found themselves in quite a bit of hot water lately, mainly due to the “gives not a fuck” attitude of their “Trash Talkin Kids” t-shirt line. Perhaps you’ve heard of it.

After getting into a little legal tossup with Josh Koscheck last summer, you would probably think that Bonnar’s t-shirt based troubles were over. You would be wrong, and I would implore you to stop being so Goddamn ignorant.

You see, alongside Rich Franklin and Keith Jardine, Bonnar was kind enough to travel all the way to Bahrain to visit some of the U.S. Troops recently. He was likely charming, and he likely brightened their day. But proving that no good deed goes unpunished, on Bonnar’s way out of the country, he was detained by airport security, interrogated for over a day, and bitten by a poisonous camel spider before finally being allowed to leave. Why, you ask? Because apparently airport security didn’t appreciate the subtlety of the Melvin Guillard “Young Assassin” shirt that Bonnar was wearing.

He recounted the ridiculous story on Tuesday’s episode of Inside MMA: 

We’re getting ready to leave Bahrain, and I get detained at the airport. Jardine and Franklin get on the flight, and they take me in the room. They’re asking me all these questions, and they’re furious. One guy’s comin’ in the room and pointin’ at me, all furious, like that. And, what I think is that, I had on the ’Young Assassin’ shirt, with Melvin Guillard, and there’s a guy with a turban with his brains spillin’ out. I don’t think they liked that too much.

Bonnar continued:

There was only one flight out for the day at 9:30 p.m. The United flight that I was on. They kept me at the airport so long, I missed my flight. I had to wait till the next day to get on the flight. So, I’m tired. I’m sleeping at the airport, and all of a sudden, I wake up to a burning sensation on my leg. It scared me. I went and brushed down on my leg and, sure enough, a spider about the size of my hand comes crawling out of my pant leg and takes off runnin’! I couldn’t believe my eyes! This big camel spider goes under the door. I try to chase it. I lose it, and then, my God, my leg swells up, I get a fever, it’s gettin’ infected…but, hey, I’m gettin’ the heck out of there. The next night, I’m on that 9:30 flight, I’m ready to board that flight when, lo and behold…THAT flight gets canceled! So I’m stuck there another day! So, I had the option of going in for an antibiotic IV or stay in the hospital a few days, but instead, I opted to go the oral route, three different kinds of antibiotics, and I got on that flight that next day and got the hell out of there! God bless America!

Not creeped out enough yet? Well, take a look at a photo of the bite he received on his leg while detained, one that apparently came from a spider the size of a dinner plate.

Your move, Rashad.

If you’ve got a couple more minutes, and somehow still haven’t filled your creep tanks for the day, we’ve posted the videos of Bonnar’s plight below. Enjoy?


-J. Jones

Melvin Guillard to Be Strangled by Fabricio Camoes at UFC 148 and Other UFC Fight Booking Announcements


(Dammit! This was so much easier to escape in the video game!)  

On the heels of two straight submission via rear-naked choke losses courtesy of Joe Lauzon and Jim Miller, former “top contender” Melvin Guillard’s stock is probably at an all time low. The UFC, likely recognizing Melvin’s need to step up his ground game or GTFO, are not cutting him any slack, as they have paired him against 3rd degree (uh-oh) BJJ black belt (not good) under Royler Gracie (dear God) Fabricio Camoes. The worst part: Camoes is coming off a submission by rear-naked choke victory at UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller.

Game. Set. Soon.

Look, we’ve got mad respect for Melvin Guillard; how can you not love someone whose idea of avoiding the takedown is repeatedly throwing flying knees? But this does not look good for “The Young Assassin,” who may very well get the boot if he is submitted for the seventh time in his UFC career come July 7th. Come on Zuffa, you can’t even give him some low-level nobody to squash first?

Matter of fact, it looks to us like the UFC is trying to punish each and every member of The Blackzilians for Anthony Johnson’s colossal mistake. Have the Zuffa attorneys not informed DW and Joe Silva that judging a certain group of people based on one isolated incident is considered profiling, and could lead to a huge backlash from said group? If we could think of any examples from American history, say from around the 1960’s, that could possibly help prove this point, we would. Unfortunately, no such example exists. Perhaps we’re just lucky.

Join us after the jump for a ton of fight booking news…


(Dammit! This was so much easier to escape in the video game!)  

On the heels of two straight submission via rear-naked choke losses courtesy of Joe Lauzon and Jim Miller, former “top contender” Melvin Guillard’s stock is probably at an all time low. The UFC, likely recognizing Melvin’s need to step up his ground game or GTFO, are not cutting him any slack, as they have paired him against 3rd degree (uh-oh) BJJ black belt (not good) under Royler Gracie (dear God) Fabricio Camoes. The worst part: Camoes is coming off a submission by rear-naked choke victory at UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller.

Game. Set. Soon.

Look, we’ve got mad respect for Melvin Guillard; how can you not love someone whose idea of avoiding the takedown is repeatedly throwing flying knees? But this does not look good for “The Young Assassin,” who may very well get the boot if he is submitted for the seventh time in his UFC career come July 7th. Come on Zuffa, you can’t even give him some low-level nobody to squash first?

Matter of fact, it looks to us like the UFC is trying to punish each and every member of The Blackzilians for Anthony Johnson’s colossal mistake. Have the Zuffa attorneys not informed DW and Joe Silva that judging a certain group of people based on one isolated incident is considered profiling, and could lead to a huge backlash from said group? If we could think of any examples from American history, say from around the 1960′s, that could possibly help prove this point, we would. Unfortunately, no such example exists. Perhaps we’re just lucky.

Speaking of fighters who will find themselves in the unemployment line with another loss, it looks like a “loser leaves town” match has been booked between Leonard Garcia and Matt Grice, this one at UFC on FX 3. Currently 1-4 in under the Zuffa banner, Matt “The Real One” Grice has suffered submission defeats to Shannon Gugerty and Terry Etim and TKO losses to Matt Veach and Ricardo Lamas. Garcia, on the other hand, is coming off back to back karmic defeats in rematch bouts against Chan Sung Jung and Nam Phan. If Garcia were to somehow lose this one, we imagine he’d stand a better chance of sticking around than Grice, but let’s just say that a loss by either = the soup kitchen and watch the leather fly.

Coming off a successful UFC debut in which he beat down Kamal Shalorus en route to a third round rear-naked choke victory, undefeated prospect Khabib Nurmagomedov will take a huge step up in competition when he faces Gleison Tibau at UFC 148. We don’t know exactly where we’d place Tibau on our “Good, Bad, and Ugly” scale of dropping weight; ever since cutting down from welterweight following UFC 65, he has managed to make 155 lbs on most of his attempts, yet shows up looking like MuscleBob BuffPants come fight night. I guess we’d categorize him as “Freakish.” In either case, Tibau’s put together a hell of a run at lightweight, going 4-1 in his last 5 and most recently snagging a close decision victory over Rafael Dos Anjos.

In UFC on FX 4 news, TUF 9 winner Ross Pearson and WEC veteran Cub Swanson are set to lock horns in a featherweight contest. After going 5-2 as a lightweight, Pearson recently made the trip down to 145 at UFC 141 and proceeded to chase Junior Assuncao around the octagon like he was Kalib Starnes en route to a unanimous decision victory. In the aftermath of Pearson’s “Quarrian” effort, Assuncao was released by Zuffa, and still isn’t sure why. Shame.

Meanwhile, the bearer of perhaps the worst tattoos in all of MMA rebounded from a UFC debut loss to Ricardo Lamas at the inaugural UFC on Fox event with a brutal, mouthpiece ejecting TKO of George Roop at UFC on FOX 2. Swanson has gone win-loss in his last seven contests, and holds notable victories over Mackens Semerzier and that’s it. Put your money on the Brit, ladies and gentlemen.

UFC on FX 4 goes down from the the Revel Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey (*shudder*) on June 22nd.

Who ya got?

-J. Jones