"Untapped potential" has long been the tag slapped on Melvin Guillard. But that should come to an end after his devastating win Saturday night over hotshot lightweight Evan Dunham. The 27-year-old Gullard, who has battled drug issues and discipline problems in the past, crushed Dunham with slick, composed striking to finish the fight at 2:58 of the first round in the main event of Fight for the Troops 2.
"I want my title shot. I'm the darkhouse in this game at (1)55," Guillard told UFC analyst Joe Rogan. "No disrespect to anyone in my weight class, but I am the best 155-pound fighter in the UFC."
The lightweight title belt is going to be tied up for a while. After their classic fight at UFC 125, Frank Edgar and Gray Maynard need to fight again to get a clear answer. Anthony Pettis, with a win over Clay Guida, will probably get the winner. Guillard (27-8-2, 10-4 UFC) doesn't want to wait around and he's confident that he'll open the eyes of management in 2011.
"And you know what? I don’t want to wait for that rematch. So you keep lining them up, I'll keep knocking them down," Guillard said. "And I will go undefeated in 2011. I will get a title shot before the end of 2011 or no later than 2012. I promise you that."
It was the fourth straight win for Guillard, who's now won 7 of 8. More importantly, Guillard is 4-0 since moving to Albuquerque to train with renowned trainer Greg Jackson. Guillard fights with a game plan now and doesn't lose his head in the cage.
Dunham, the superior fighter on the ground, put him to the test early by working hard for the takedown. Just 20 seconds into the fight, Dunham got a hold of Guillard and moved the double underhook clinch to the cage. He got Guillard down 19 seconds later, but could never get him settled. Guillard got up and the fighters were back in striking position less than 30 seconds later.
Guillard made Dunham look awkward and slow on the feet. Guillard knocked down Dunham with 2:30 left in the first with a straight right. Dunham got pounded with 10 more rights as he desperately grabbed for Guillard's leg. When Guillard got free he blasted Dunham with three more big shots. He got control of Dunham's head and rocked him with a big left knee. The fence saved Dunham from falling down. He was out of it. On the way down, Guillard got him with one more knee.
Guillard actually landed an additional illegal knee before referee Mario Yamasaki stopped the fight. Yamasaki didn't make it into an issue. Good thing for Guillard and the UFC that he didn't. It was clear Dunham couldn't continue if Guillard had been warned or penalized for that knee.
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