UFC 136 Fight Card: Is Melvin Guillard the Most Dangerous Lightweight in UFC?

It's been a long time coming, but Melvin "The Young Assassin" Guillard is poised to place himself into No. 1 contender status with a victory over Joe Lauzon at UFC 136 on October 8th.  

It's been a long time coming because Guillard entered the UFC as one of the most athletic fighters to step foot in an octagon.  He possesses fantastic knockout power, speed, elusiveness and unpredictable striking angles that confuse opponents.  He hasn't been knocked out in 40 professional fights, so he has the chin to go toe-to-toe with anybody.

So if he has all these attributes, why hasn't he fought for the title already?  There's a simple one-word answer for that: submissions.  

Melvin has lost eight professional fights, with seven of them coming due to submission.  His submission defense has always, always been putrid.  He was bested by less talented fighters due to this glaring hole in his game.  

So if this is the case, why is he dangerous now?  Another simple answer: Greg Jackson.  Since teaming up with Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn, Guillard has transformed his brash attitude and raw talent into a wonderful winning streak that may catapult him into contention.  If you can't submit Melvin, you can't outpace him and you can't out-strike him, what can you do?

On top of the other attributes and god-given talent, Greg Jackson has changed Melvin's mindset.  He loves to practice, turning into something of a gym rat.  He also enters fights with confidence and not as the cocky kid that would get submitted because of silly mistakes. 

With Melvin Guillard in the right mindset, the best physical shape of his life and with a great training camp behind him, the sky is the limit for him.  Perhaps he can be Anderson Silva-esque like he aims to be, but he needs to march through Joe Lauzon, and the winner of the Frankie Edgar/Grey Maynard showdown before people truly get on the band wagon.

A quote from Melvin Guillard via UFC.com's Thomas Gerbasi

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“I have the attitude that I’ll fight anybody because when I’m old or I’m gone, I want to be remembered as the Muhammad Ali of MMA,” said Guillard. “I want to be known as a legend, I want to be on the wall of the UFC Training Center. That’s my goal now. I want people to say, ‘Man, that kid was a damn good fighter. He left it all in the ring and fought with heart and determination.’ It’s not about the money to me. Yes, I want to make a living doing this and I want to become rich being a fighter, but I’m not fighting for the money. I want to be remembered in the ages. That’s my biggest thing.”

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