On Jan. 22 in Fort Hood, Texas, Melvin Guillard (25-8-2) will go toe-to-toe with Evan Dunham (11-1) at UFC Fight Night 23: "Fight for the Troops 2."
Guillard went 16-4-2 for independent promotions before getting his big break with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). "The Young Assassin" tells Pro MMA Radio where he was when he got the call to join The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season 2 show.
"They just called my gym. I was actually training to defend one of my kickboxing titles and they called the gym phone. They brought me the phone and I thought it was a prank call so I hung the phone up. They called right back and they said ‘Hey this is the Spike TV cast crew for TUF, are you able to come out for some physicals and possibly interviews.' They flew me out that week."
Guillard has come a long way since his 2005 debut with the largest mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion in the world. The 155-pound wrecking ball from New Orleans says it was about getting with the right people.
"It's one thing Dana (White) told me from the beginning. ‘Kid you've got a great future, you're very explosive, but you just need to get with the right team.' I was trying to find that team. I thought I had that chemistry in Houston under Saul Soliz, but unfortunately that didn't work out. After fighting Joe Stevenson, I got with Joe and he said ‘Hey I'll bring you up to Jackson's.' I actually talked to coach Greg when I was in my locker room right before I fought Gleison Tibau. That was the one gyms that I found that has the world's greatest coach, but also the greatest personalities and attitudes inside the gym."
After going 3-0 in his last three bouts, it looks like Guillard found the right team.
No comments:
Post a Comment