Tag: Melvin Guillard

‘UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller’ Aftermath: Bringing Back the Ban


Barry didn’t check on Morecraft, but it’s safe to say he got some fans. Props: UFC.com

Overall, the UFC’s fourth biggest debut on a television network, which showcased two of the best lightweights coming off of losses and the organization’s second best announcing team, was as successful as it could have been. Sure, there were some long pauses in between the fights, but that’s to be expected when you draw out 60 minutes of actual fighting into a five hour television broadcast. The rattling punches and tapping hands that signaled an early end to many of last night’s fights kept a perfect rhythm with a drum we’ve been beating on CagePotato for quite some time now: The key to victory in mixed martial arts is evolution, not regression. If a fighter wants to stay relevant- or even employed- within the UFC, he needs to develop himself into the most complete fighter he can.

For an example of this, look no further than Melvin Guillard. Both fans and pundits were calling his performance “Vintage Melvin” while the dynamic striker aggressively pursued Jim Miller, arguably coming closer to knocking out the submission specialist than anyone else has. However, after one flying knee attempt too many saw Miller putting Guillard on his back, “Vintage Melvin” demonstrated the same ground game that has always been his kryptonite. An impatient Melvin Guillard did everything he could to get back to his feet, which resulted in Jim Miller taking his back and sinking in the fight ending choke. “The Young Assassin” is now 10-6 in the UFC, with all of his losses coming by submission. While permanently relegating Guillard to the undercards may be a bit drastic, it’s obvious that Guillard will never be a contender unless he fixes those holes in his ground game- something far easier said than done at this point in his career.

Jim Miller did exactly what we knew he needed to do to win. He weathered the storm against Guillard’s attack, he was persistent with his takedown attempts and he kept the fight on the ground once it went there. While a quick submission wasn’t exactly unexpected, it was still impressive enough to earn him Submission of the Night honors.


Barry didn’t check on Morecraft, but it’s safe to say he got some fans. Props: UFC.com

Overall, the UFC’s fourth biggest debut on a television network, which showcased two of the best lightweights coming off of losses and the organization’s second best announcing team, was as successful as it could have been. Sure, there were some long pauses in between the fights, but that’s to be expected when you draw out 60 minutes of actual fighting into a five hour television broadcast. The rattling punches and tapping hands that signaled an early end to many of last night’s fights kept a perfect rhythm with a drum we’ve been beating on CagePotato for quite some time now: The key to victory in mixed martial arts is evolution, not regression. If a fighter wants to stay relevant- or even employed- within the UFC, he needs to develop himself into the most complete fighter he can.

For an example of this, look no further than Melvin Guillard. Both fans and pundits were calling his performance “Vintage Melvin” while the dynamic striker aggressively pursued Jim Miller, arguably coming closer to knocking out the submission specialist than anyone else has. However, after one flying knee attempt too many saw Miller putting Guillard on his back, “Vintage Melvin” demonstrated the same ground game that has always been his kryptonite. An impatient Melvin Guillard did everything he could to get back to his feet, which resulted in Jim Miller taking his back and sinking in the fight ending choke. “The Young Assassin” is now 10-6 in the UFC, with all of his losses coming by submission. While permanently relegating Guillard to the undercards may be a bit drastic, it’s obvious that Guillard will never be a contender unless he fixes those holes in his ground game- something far easier said than done at this point in his career.

Jim Miller did exactly what we knew he needed to do to win. He weathered the storm against Guillard’s attack, he was persistent with his takedown attempts and he kept the fight on the ground once it went there. While a quick submission wasn’t exactly unexpected, it was still impressive enough to earn him Submission of the Night honors.

The co-main event of the evening had knockout of the night written all over it, with both men known primarily for their standup games. As expected, Duane Ludwig got the better of Josh Neer on the feet. Yet Neer kept pushing forward against Ludwig’s crisp attack and managed to drag Duane “Bang” to the ground. Once there, Neer did what few anticipated and locked up a fight ending guillotine. “The Dentist” improves to 33-10 in his mixed martial arts career, picking up his twelfth victory by submission.

The evening’s Fight of the Night honors surprisingly did not go to Mike Easton vs. Jared Papazian, but rather Pat Barry vs. Christian Morecraft. Pat Barry may have struggled to stop Morecraft’s takedowns, but “HD” displayed a much improved ground game- a testament to his time training with Team Deathclutch. Never mind that impressive roll out of the armbar attempt- as little as two fights ago, Pay Barry would have been choked out the first time Morecraft mounted him and began to work for the rear-naked choke. Yet Barry’s continued efforts to evolve as a fighter paid off, as he managed both times to get back to his feet and outstrike Morecraft. After dropping Morecraft with a left hook, Barry swarmed in with some vicious ground and pound to end the fight at the 3:38 mark of round one.

If you didn’t get to see Mike Easton vs. Jared Papazian, you missed an excellent fight that has essentially become par for the course whenever the bantamweights step into the octagon. Both men displayed excellent conditioning in a quick paced fight, with Easton getting the better of Papazian in the standup exchanges throughout the fight. But don’t feel bad if you missed it- apparently one of the judges missed the fight as well, scoring it a 28-28 draw. Easton improves to 12-1 with the victory.

On a final note, Knockout of the Night honors went to Canadian prospect Nick “The Ninja of Love” Denis (seriously) for his brutal standing elbows knockout over Joseph “Not Dan Hardy” Sandoval (seriously). The impressive UFC debut for Denis improves his record to 11-2, with ten of those victories coming by knockout. All bonuses from the evening were worth $45k.

Undercard Results
-Nick Denis def. Joseph Sandoval via KO (standing elbows) 0:22 of Round 1
-Daniel Pineda def. Pat Schilling via submission (rear-naked choke) 1:37 of Round 1
-Fabricio Camoes def. Tommy Hayden via submission (rear-naked choke) 4:03 of Round 1
-Charlie Brenneman def. Daniel Roberts via unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
-Habib “The Nurm” Nurmagomedov def. Kamal Shalorus via submission (rear-naked choke) 2:08 of Round 3
-Jorge Rivera def. Eric Schafer via TKO (punches) 1:31 of Round 2

Main Card Results

– Barry def. Morecraft via KO (punches) at 3:38 of Round 1
– Mike Easton def. Jared Papazian via majority decision
– Josh Neer def. Duane Ludwig via submission (guillotine) at 3:05 of Round 1
– Jim Miller def. Melvin Guillard via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:04 of Round 1

– @SethFalvo

UFC on FX 1 Results: 5 Fights to Get Melvin Guillard Back on Track

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 Assa…

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. 

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UFC on FX Morning After: Anik, Florian Put on a Good First Show

Filed under: UFCThe work done inside the Octagon at the first-ever UFC on FX event Friday night was good, but before I get to that I’d like to take a moment to praise the work done behind the microphone.

Jon Anik, doing live play-by-play in the UFC fo…

Filed under:

Kenny FlorianThe work done inside the Octagon at the first-ever UFC on FX event Friday night was good, but before I get to that I’d like to take a moment to praise the work done behind the microphone.

Jon Anik, doing live play-by-play in the UFC for the first time, was a breath of fresh air. And UFC fighter Kenny Florian was a solid color commentator alongside Anik. This is a pairing that should grow together (they already have chemistry from working together on ESPN’s MMA Live) and provide an authoritative pair of voices on UFC broadcasts.

Anik, in particular, is worthy of praise. He’s well-prepared, knowledgeable and informative. Anik is smoother and more direct in his delivery than Mike Goldberg, the UFC’s longtime in-house play-by-play man, and he seemed better able to work background information about the fighters into the flow of the fight, whereas Goldberg sometimes comes across as though he’s forcing it.

If Anik continues to grow as a play-by-play man, he’s going to be an excellent addition to UFC broadcasts. He has a natural feel for the flow of a fight, a good voice, and an understanding of the sport and how to describe the action. On Day One as a UFC play-by-play man, I already prefer him to Goldberg.

In addition to play-by-play, Anik handled the post-fight interviews on Friday night, and there he seemed a little bit out of his element. At times in the post-fight interviews I thought Anik ventured too far out of the commentator role and into fan territory, with comments like telling Josh Neer, “Your chin is unreal, dude.” Although Anik is a UFC employee, I believe he’ll better serve the audience if he comes across as more of a straight shooter and less of a promoter.

As for Anik’s on-air partner, Florian is at his best when he’s telling viewers why a fighter is doing what he’s doing. For instance, when Daniel Roberts had Charlie Brenneman in a guillotine choke on the ground, and Brenneman escaped by turning away from it, Florian did a good job of explaining what Brenneman was doing.


“Immediately you can see Brenneman countered that guillotine choke by going to the far side,” Florian said. “Going to the opposite side of that arm, that is the way you want to counter.”

Lots of fighters know enough Brazilian jiu jitsu to know that, but what makes Florian good on TV is that he’s eloquent enough to explain it quickly and clearly while it’s happening. I also liked Florian’s work on Friday night because I never got the sense that he had friends or favorites among the fighters inside the cage, which isn’t always the case with fighters who work as commentators.

Ultimately, we don’t tune in to a UFC broadcast — or any other sports broadcast — because of the announcers. We tune in because of the athletes. But we hope the commentators will entertain and inform us while we’re watching. Anik and Florian did that well.

UFC on FX Notes
— This was a very good fight card, from top to bottom. There wasn’t a bad fight on it, and there were some sensational finishes, including six in the first round.

— The main event went pretty much how I thought it was going to go: Jim Miller is just too good on the ground, and Melvin Guillard is just too bad on the ground, for a ground exchange between them to end any way other than Guillard tapping out. Miller is now 21-3 in his MMA career, with 12 of his wins by submission. Guillard is 29-10-2, with nine of his losses by submission. It’s a shame that Guillard has never developed much submission defense because other than that glaring hole in his game he has the talent to be a champion.

— Jorge Rivera retired after his fight with Eric Schafer. Rivera, who will turn 40 next month, has had a long and honorable mixed martial arts career, and it’s easy to see why he has decided that now is the time: He’s been fighting professionally for more than a decade, and his time in the UFC goes all the way back to UFC 44, when he beat David Louiseau, and there’s not a whole lot left for him to do inside the Octagon.

Most of the talk recently about UFC fighters’ pay has focused on either the entry-level fighters making as little as $6,000 a fight, or on the stars who make millions. I’d like to hear more about how well mid-level veterans like Rivera are doing financially. I would hope that Rivera has made enough money in his 15-fight career to pay off a house, put some money away for retirement, set up his gym back home in Massachusetts and generally be financially comfortable, if not rich, now that he’s done fighting. Eventually it would be great to see the UFC reach the point where vested veterans have pension plans.

UFC on FX Quotes
“I was so excited. Like, I was super excited. I didn’t know what to do. I was just like, I’m going to go in there and go crazy.” — Daniel Pineda, who sounded as happy as a kid on Christmas morning after he earned a first-round submission win over Pat Schilling in his UFC debut.

“I know the whole world says my jiu jitsu coach is James Toney.” — Pat Barry, making a joke at his own expense by acknowledging that his ground skills have looked almost as rudimentary as Toney’s in the past. Barry still has some work to do on his takedown defense, but he did a nice job of defending himself on the ground and getting back to his feet against Christian Morecraft before eventually knocking Morecraft out.

Good Call
Joe Silva made a great decision in signing Khabib Nurmagomedov, who looked tremendous in his third-round submission win over Kamal Shalorus, a win that improved his record to an amazing 17-0. This 23-year-old Russian has a great future ahead of him.

Bad Call
Referee Herb Dean was too quick to stand up the fight when Charlie Brenneman was inside Daniel Roberts’ guard in both the second and third rounds. Brenneman and Roberts were both fighting and trying to improve their positions, and Dean should have let them work it out. Coming just six days after referee Dan Miragliotta was too quick to stand up Anthony Johnson and Vitor Belfort at UFC 142, it was disappointing to see another good referee with two more premature standups.

Stock Up
 Nick Denis got things started with a sensational knockout of Joseph Sandoval, using four straight short elbows to put Sandoval down just 22 seconds into the first round. The 28-year-old Denis, who has previously fought for Sengoku in Japan as well as a few smaller American promotions, is a great addition to the UFC’s bantamweight division.

Stock Down
Tommy Hayden was an undefeated prospect heading into Friday night, but he had built up his 8-0 record fighting unknowns on small cards, and he wasn’t ready for a grizzled veteran like Fabricio Camoes, who schooled him on the ground and made him tap in the first round. Hayden probably needs a few more fights on smaller shows before he’ll be ready to step back into the Octagon.

Fight I Want To See Next
 I’d love to see a rematch between Jim Miller and Gray Maynard. When they fought in 2009, Maynard won by unanimous decision, but I believe Miller may have improved more than Maynard since then. That fight would be a fascinating battle between two of the lightweight division’s best grapplers.

 

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UFC on FX: What’s Next for the Winners and Losers?

The inaugural UFC event on FX got off to a great start, and main event fighters Jim Miller and Melvin Guillard battled to get back into lightweight contention.Both were coming off losses, and both had extensive win streaks previously. The fight didn’t …

The inaugural UFC event on FX got off to a great start, and main event fighters Jim Miller and Melvin Guillard battled to get back into lightweight contention.

Both were coming off losses, and both had extensive win streaks previously. The fight didn’t last too long, but it did establish another top contender in the most stacked division.

In the co-main event, Josh “The Dentist” Neer and Duane “Bang” Ludwig fought in an anticipated welterweight fight.

Other main card fighters included Pat Barry, Mike Easton and Christian Morecraft. This is what’s next for the winners and losers.

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UFC on FX 1 Results: What’s Next for Melvin Guillard

UFC on FX 1 is in the books, and looking good early in the fight, Melvin Guillard was on the receiving end of a rear-naked choke to Jim Miller.Guillard showed great takedown wrestling defense and striking early in the fight, but Miller was ab…

UFC on FX 1 is in the books, and looking good early in the fight, Melvin Guillard was on the receiving end of a rear-naked choke to Jim Miller.

Guillard showed great takedown wrestling defense and striking early in the fight, but Miller was able to take Guillard’s back and pull off the submission. 

Guillard has now lost his second straight fight by rear-naked choke. 

Aside from the two straight losses, Guillard recently left Greg Jackson’s camp in order to train with the Blackzilians. 

Perhaps this was not the best time for Guillard to change camps, especially since he held Jackson in such high regard. 

Despite being one of the most experienced and athletic lightweights in MMA today, Guillard has often struggled in big fights and against submission experts. 

What Guillard needs to focus on when he goes back to training is his submission defense. 

Nine of his 10 losses have come by submission.

Guillard may also need to refocus himself so he can come back strong after two straight losses. 

As far as future opponents go, Guillard could take on former teammates Donald Cerrone and Clay Guida who are both coming off of losses. 

Fights with Sam Stout, who also lost in his last bout, and a returning Sean Sherk could also be good fights for Guillard. 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

‘UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller’ — Live Results + Commentary


(Is that who we think it is? No wonder Guillard always chose “Thong Song” as his walkout music.) 

Tonight marks the UFC’s fourth biggest debut on a television network, so how appropriate is it that I, CagePotato’s fourth or fifth best writer, would be assigned to such an…assignment? Damn it, I really had something for that. Anyway, both Melvin Guillard and Jim Miller will be looking to rebound from tough losses and reestablish themselves amongst the UFC’s ever-growing 155 lb. division in tonight’s main event. Elsewhere on the card, Pat Barry and Christian Morecraft will likely be fighting for their jobs, and Jorge Rivera is calling it a career regardless of how his battle with Eric Schafer goes. Everyone raise your glass of Dos Equis in his honor.

So whether you’re watching the fights from your local watering hole or the privacy of your two story, five bedroom & three bathroom brownstone in the sky, join me, Jared Jones, as I recap the action round by round starting at 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT, all whilst trying to find the perfect balance between Maker’s Mark, Yellow Tail, and Pabst Blue Ribbon. Allow me to preemptively apologize for any grammatical errors, delayed updates, and possibly racist, anti-semitic, or chauvinistic remarks that may or may not find their way onto this liveblog as a result. LETS DO THIS!!!


(Is that who we think it is? No wonder Guillard always chose “Thong Song” as his walkout music.) 

Tonight marks the UFC’s fourth biggest debut on a television network, so how appropriate is it that I, CagePotato’s fourth or fifth best writer, would be assigned to such an…assignment? Damn it, I really had something for that. Anyway, both Melvin Guillard and Jim Miller will be looking to rebound from tough losses and reestablish themselves amongst the UFC’s ever-growing 155 lb. division in tonight’s main event. Elsewhere on the card, Pat Barry and Christian Morecraft will likely be fighting for their jobs, and Jorge Rivera is calling it a career regardless of how his battle with Eric Schafer goes. Everyone raise your glass of Dos Equis in his honor.

So whether you’re watching the fights from your local watering hole or the privacy of your two story, five bedroom & three bathroom brownstone in the sky, join me, Jared Jones, as I recap the action round by round starting at 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT, all whilst trying to find the perfect balance between Maker’s Mark, Yellow Tail, and Pabst Blue Ribbon. Allow me to preemptively apologize for any grammatical errors, delayed updates, and possibly racist, anti-semitic, or chauvinistic remarks that may or may not find their way onto this liveblog as a result. LETS DO THIS!!!

Undercard Results
-Nick Denis def. Joseph Sandoval via KO (Jordan Mein-esque standing hellbows) 0:22 of round 1
-Daniel Pineda def. Pat Schilling via submission (rear-naked choke) 1:37 of round 1
-Fabricio Camoes def. Tommy Hayden via submission (rear-naked choke) 4:03 of round 1
-Charlie Brenneman def. Daniel Roberts via unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
-Habib “The Nurm” Nurmagomedov def. Kamal Shalorus via submission (rear-naked choke) 2:08 of round 3
-Jorge Rivera def. Eric Schafer via TKO (punches) 1:31 of round 2

In case you guys haven’t heard, apparently Sean McCorkle isn’t a fan of our particular brand of comedy. And the man makes a good point, fighter bashing is a cheap, classless form of entertainment. It would be like joking about Brett Rogers beating his kids on a live radio program. Thank God neither of us have ever been involved in something so horrible. But hey, even he must admit that we’re still better than BloodyElbow. SO SUCK ON THAT WORLD.

Anyway, here we go…

Pat Barry vs. Christian Morecraft

Jon Anik says Morecraft will have to be “crafty and more to get past Pat Barry.” Mauro Ronaldo just threw himself into oncoming traffic. Herb Dean is our referee.

Round 1: Morecraft gets ahold of Barry’s leg and takes him down early, then starts working a rear-naked. Barry fights out of it and gets to his feet. Leg kick drops Morecraft momentarily. Nice jab by Barry. Morecraft shoots a single…is that Barry attempting a guillotine?!! Morecraft takes advantage, gets Barry to the mat and mounts him again. Morecraft goes for an armbar AND BARRY DEFENDS IT. Barry just misses a head kick. A looping left hook drops Morecraft, and Barry swarms him. Barry finishes Morecraft off with some brutal ground and pound ala Yvel/Rizzo.

Barry def. Morecraft via KO (punches) at 3:38 round 1

Barry showed some much improved submission defense, but will need to add some takedown defense if he wants to put together a real win streak. And he celebrates by planking on Jon Anik’s foot. Love him or hate him, you can’t deny that Barry is one entertaining SOB. Morecraft looks…rough.

Mike Easton vs. Jared Papazian 

These two are not fans of one another, and are jawing from across the cage. Was that a Haiduken by Easton in the introductions?

Round 1: Both men come out trading like Frye/Takayama, minus the mustache glory. Easton pins Papazian against the cage. Yamasaki breaks it up near the halfway mark. Leg kick by each man. Papazian wings a huge right hook and catches nothing but air. Leg kick by Easton is answered. Left hand counter by Easton. Easton tries a knee from the clinch. Then a spinning back kick that partially lands. Nice leg kick from Easton. Both men trade some knees and punches until the round ends. 10-9 Easton.

Round 2: Papazian lands a few punches including a superman, but Easton walks right through them. Solid left hook from Easton. Both guys are swinging for the fences, but Easton is getting the better, who decides to clinch. Now they are fighting for underhooks against the cage. Now Papazian tries the spinning back kick, and Easton clinches. Easton gets a takedown and into half guard. He momentarily gets side mount, but Papazian is able to stand back up. Knee Easton. Papazian shoots but is reversed and taken down. Another close round, but Easton took it with takedowns.

Round 3: Both men are trading back and forth with bad intentions. Papazian gets the clinch, but Easton reverses again. Mario splits them up. Papazian recovers briefly from a knee to the groin. Jab Papazian. Three punch combo by Easton. These men have some chins, folks. Papazian is coming forward Diaz style, constantly pressuring Easton with punches in bunches. Leg kicks from both fighters. Easton follows a trip with a right hand. Easton gets the Thai plum and throws a couple more knees. Uppercut Papazian. Easton answers with a right and Papazian goes for a double as the bell rings. Great fight.

Mike Easton def. Jared Papazian via majority decision. 

Duane Ludwig vs. Josh Neer

This was my original pick for FOTN, but it’s going to be hard to top Papazian/Easton. They’re using the NFL theme as background music, a sickening reminder that I have to watch Tom Brady yet again come Sunday. I’m not one to wish harm on another person, but I really hope someone spears Brady directly into Bill Belichick, permanently disabling them both in the process.

Round 1: Both men pawing with the jab. Neer clinches after Ludwig catches him coming forward. Nice balance by Ludwig, who throws a knee. Neer lands an overhand right. Ludwig with a knee to the body that momentarily backs up Neer. Ludwig lands a few nice shots, and Neer is just eating them up. Neer grabs a single and manages to get Ludwig down. Neer snags a guillotine in the scramble, and that shit is DEEP. Ludwig goes limp shortly thereafter. Nice win for Neer.

Josh Neer def. Duane Ludwig via submission (guillotine) 3:05 round 1. 

Now they’re previewing the Diaz/Condit fight, calling Diaz “the most enigmatic fighter in the UFC.”A thousand dollars says Diaz can neither spell that word nor knows what it means. Then again, dictionaries are for trick ass punks and punk ass tricks, homie.

Melvin Guillard vs. Jim Miller

Miller comes out to “Bad Moon Rising” by CCR. BOSS.

Round 1: Guillard tries an “explosive” flying knee early. Then another. Guillard catches Miller with a left, and Miller clinches. Guillard throws another knee, then whiffs a head kick. Miller drives him into the fence but can’t get him down. Guillard with a right, then yet another flying knee, but Miller manages to take him down. Miller quickly gets into mount, Guillard tries to stand, and Miller leaps into a rear naked choke. I’ve seen this movie before. Aaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnndddd it’s over. Blackzilians are officially 0-2 in the octagon.

Jim Miller def. Melvin Guillard via submission (rear-naked choke) 2:04 of round 1

Chalk up another win for the Gambling Enabler, folks. Well, just like many first times, this liveblog was shockingly quick and mostly pain free. I thank those of you who decided to keep me company on this cold evening, and hope you all have a great weekend. Peace and love, Potato Nation.

-Danga