Tag: Melvin Guillard

Best Performance of the Night: Jim Miller at ‘UFC on FX 1’

Another major MMA event has come and gone, and it’s time for my unofficial “Best Performance of the Night” award. And when you have an event like UFC on FX 1, it’s tough to pick just one finish out of all the great ones the nigh…

Another major MMA event has come and gone, and it’s time for my unofficial “Best Performance of the Night” award. And when you have an event like UFC on FX 1, it’s tough to pick just one finish out of all the great ones the night provided.

Of the 10 scheduled bouts, only two went to a decision. So which finish stood out above all the rest? Here’s why Jim Miller took home “Best Performance of the Night.”

Let’s begin as we always do, fans and friends—by putting the situation into context.

Heading into this fight, Miller had lost for only the third time in his professional MMA career. His record stood at an overwhelmingly positive 20-3. To date, only Benson Henderson, Frank Edgar and Gray Maynard have ever beaten Miller.

Henderson is set to challenge for the UFC lightweight championship, Maynard is a two-time UFC lightweight championship challenger and Edgar is the current reigning and defending UFC lightweight champion.

Before losing to Henderson, Miller was on a seven-fight winning streak that included four stoppage victories, two of which occurred in the first round.

I’ve been saying that Miller is underrated and one of the best lightweights in the UFC since 2010, so hopefully that background gives you a better idea of why I find it puzzling that Jim Miller isn’t a major star right now.

Miller’s opponent for this event, Melvin Guillard, was dealing with his own humbling loss coming into the UFC on FX 1 event. With a gigantic record of 29-9-2 with one no contest, Guillard had most of the fame that had eluded Miller.

 

At times both famous and infamous, Guillard has been known for his wild style, his self-destructive personal problems and his ability to dramatically finish opponents. Before losing to Joe Lauzon at UFC 136, Guillard was on a five-fight winning streak with three wins by (T)KO and with all three of those wins occurring in the very first round of action.

Even with both men coming off of losses, this was a fight between two top-10 fighters, and it seemed destined to deliver an entertaining finish.

And it fulfilled its destiny.

Guillard is known for his early-round onslaughts, and that’s exactly what he brought against Miller. The ability of Miller to take a punch and survive Guillard’s blitzkrieg is every bit as impressive as his ability to turn the situation around and submit Guillard.

With this win, Miller moves his record to 21-3 with 12 wins by submission. He’s won three out of his last four, and all three wins have been stoppages.

At this point, I don’t know what else I can do. I’m not just in the bandwagon, I’m not just at the front of it, I’m practically jumping up and down screaming my lungs out into a megaphone.

Everybody, please! Start paying attention to Jim Miller, because he’s awesome. This fight proved that, and that’s why he gets my “Best Performance of the Night” award.

 

Oliver Saenz, also known as PdW2kX, is a freelance journalist, opinion columnist, hardcore MMA fan, and lifelong video game nerd. For more news, views, previews, and reviews on all things Mixed Martial Arts as well as video games, be sure to visit FightGamesBlog.net.

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UFC on FX 1 Video: Melvin Guillard Says He Doesn’t Regret Changing Camps

At a UFC on FX 1 press conference with Melvin Guillard, he discusses his defeat to Jim Miller in the main event Friday night, the status of his ground game, whether he regrets changing camps, what went wrong in the fight, where he views himself in the …

At a UFC on FX 1 press conference with Melvin Guillard, he discusses his defeat to Jim Miller in the main event Friday night, the status of his ground game, whether he regrets changing camps, what went wrong in the fight, where he views himself in the lightweight division and more.

On his performance:

I came in tonight very focused. The key for me to my success right now is to be patient. I thought I had Jim hurt. He’s very tough. For me to hurt a guy like Jim, I didn’t want to overdo it and just fatigue my arms, so I tried to back off and reset and go back in again. I’m still having trouble figuring out how he caught my back. I don’t regret changing camps. I’ve been working on my back escapes and it’s crazy. I knew what exactly to do to get him off my back but when he grabbed me, he had it tight at that point. I couldn’t do anything.

On the people criticizing his jiu-jitsu and why it is still a continuing problem:

It wasn’t a problem. I mean, I did everything right. I knew exactly how to shake him off my back. I just happened, when he jumped on my back, I was actually going to go down, so I could pull his arm away from my throat. But when he reset, it shook me. He collapsed my hip and I fell down. At that point, I had to try to roll over to the other side. I was sticking to the basics of what I learned. You know a lot of people criticize my ground game, I’m not going to sit here and think I have the best ground game because obviously I don’t. I’ve lost fights on submissions. To lose to a guy like Jim, I wasn’t emotional about this loss like I was for the [Joe] Lauzon fight because I really feel in my heart the Lauzon fight was a fluke.

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UFC on FX 1 Results: Post-Fight Stock Report

Last night, the UFC set up shop at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., as lightweight notables Melvin Guillard and Jim Miller served their headlining duties for the organization’s first foray on the FX network.The show went off without a hi…

Last night, the UFC set up shop at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., as lightweight notables Melvin Guillard and Jim Miller served their headlining duties for the organization’s first foray on the FX network.

The show went off without a hitch, and many fighters saw their stock rise in their respective divisions.

Conversely, other fighters have plummeted in the rankings and will be fighting an uphill battle to remain relevant and indispensable in the talent-laden organization. 

Begin Slideshow

‘UFC on FX: Guillard vs Miller’ GIF Party: The Finishes & Other Highlights

Guillard choking, in every sense of the word. (Photo: UFC.com)

While the ‘UFC on FX’ debut may have lacked the big names of UFC 142, the fights themselves packed just as much fire-power. For the second straight week, six fighters were able to put away their opponent and double their earnings in less than a round. Punches, chokes, and a torrent of brutal hellbows were all used to send grown men into la-la land, and we’ve got the GIF’s to prove it.

(Thanks to Zombie Prophet for the GIFs)

Guillard choking, in every sense of the word. (Photo: UFC.com)

While the ‘UFC on FX’ debut may have lacked the big names of UFC 142, the fights themselves packed just as much fire-power. For the second straight week, six fighters were able to put away their opponent and double their earnings in less than a round. Punches, chokes, and a torrent of brutal hellbows were all used to send grown men into la-la land, and we’ve got the GIF’s to prove it.

(Thanks to Zombie Prophet for the GIFs)

 

Jorge Rivera vs. Eric Schafer


 

Habib Nurmagomedov vs. Kamal Shalorus

UFC on FX 1 Results: 3 Things Melvin Guillard Needs to Improve on

Melvin Guillard lost his second consecutive fight last night, when Jim Miller submitted him in the first round. The loss completely removes Guillard from lightweight title contention, and now “The Young Assassin” is going to have to pull to…

Melvin Guillard lost his second consecutive fight last night, when Jim Miller submitted him in the first round.

The loss completely removes Guillard from lightweight title contention, and now “The Young Assassin” is going to have to pull together an impressive win streak in order to get the lightweight title shot that’s he’s been working towards.

However, Guillard will never make it to the top of the sport if he does not evolve his game, and there are definitely some improvements he needs to make in order to stay competitive.

Begin Slideshow

UFC on FX 1 Fight Card: Early Reactions from Guillard vs. Miller

Last night the UFC presented its first-ever live Fight Night-type event on the FX network, simply called “UFC on FX 1.”As a first event, it would, of course, have to be good enough to set a benchmark of quality that all other “UFC on FX” shows could be…

Last night the UFC presented its first-ever live Fight Night-type event on the FX network, simply called “UFC on FX 1.”

As a first event, it would, of course, have to be good enough to set a benchmark of quality that all other “UFC on FX” shows could be held up against. Going into the event, I personally noted how important it was to see if this was more of a “Fight Night Live” event or a “UFC on Versus” event.

Now I have my answer: This series has the potential to rival and even surpass the “UFC on Versus” events, and become the definitive UFC experience on television outside of the occasional “UFC on Fox” broadcasts.

Here are the full results as well as my early reactions:

 

Jim Miller defeats Melvin Guillard by submission (rear naked choke) at 2:04 of Round 1.

Josh Neer defeats Duane Ludwig by submission (guillotine choke) at 3:04 of Round 1.

Mike Easton defeats Jared Papazian by majority decision.

Pat Barry defeats Christian Morecraft by TKO (strikes) at 3:38 of Round 1.

Jorge Rivera defeats Eric Schafer by TKO (strikes) at 1:31 of Round 2.

Khabib Nurmagomedov defeats Kamal Shalorus by submission (rear naked choke) at 2:08 of Round 3.

Charlie Brenneman defeats Daniel Roberts by unanimous decision. 

Fabricio Camoes defeats Tommy Hayden by submission (rear-naked-choke) at 4:03 of Round 1.

Daniel Pineda defeats Pat Schilling by submission (rear-naked-choke) at 1:37 of Round 1.

Nick Denis defeats Joseph Sandoval by knockout (elbows) at 0:22 of Round 1.

 

You guys know by now how I feel about the UFC’s prelims, so let me just say this one more time: It’s action like this that makes me not think twice about naming the prelims my new “dark horse favorite” series even though they’re UFC-branded.

These are fights you need to see, every last one of them, because five out of the six free fights ended in stoppage. Three of those five were first-round stoppages, in fact. It’s starting to become standard fare to go into the prelims not knowing a few faces, recognizing a few faces, and expecting everybody to finish everybody else.

From Nick Denis’ manhandling of Joseph Sandoval to Jorge Riva retiring on a comeback TKO victory, these prelims were simply amazing.

Seeing Pat Barry win and get a big KO again was one of the highlights of the night for me. To be honest, I had the strongest positive reaction of the night when Barry brought the win home. Make no mistake: I want Pat Barry to stay in the UFC as long as he can, because he fights to finish and he’s ridiculously entertaining both inside and out of the cage.

While Mike Easton didn’t deliver the dominant finish I thought he would, he did bring home the win, and I guess that’s all that matters. I can admit that the hype surrounding Easton has cooled a bit after “UFC on FX 1.” He faced a very game opponent and won a very close fight. Hopefully this is a learning experience for Easton.

I didn’t have any strong feelings towards Josh Neer or Duane Ludwig going into this fight, so I honestly don’t have any strong reaction to Josh Neer submitting Duane Ludwig. I’ll say this, though: It was a good fight and a good finish. I’m happy as a UFC fan and wish both men the best.

And in the main event…well, the main event was tough to watch.

I’m happy for Jim Miller, and I’m glad he’s getting back on the right track, because I still think he’s one of the most under-rated Lightweight fighters in the UFC. But it’s just heartbreaking to see Melvin Guillard continue to make the same mistakes he’s always made.

As a fan of the man, I know I should be angry, I should be critical, but right now all I really am is sad. No matter what happens, I wish Melvin Guillard the best and I’ll continue to keep watching him fight.

All in all, the UFC is on quite a role right now. Their first major pay-per-view of 2012 was a fantastic event that set a high benchmark for UFC PPV’s in 2012, and this show did the same thing, except for live television events.

 

Oliver Saenz, also known as PdW2kX, is a freelance journalist, opinion columnist, hardcore MMA fan, and lifelong video game nerd. For more news, views, previews, and reviews on all things Mixed Martial Arts as well as video games, be sure to visit FightGamesBlog.net.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com