Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone

By Michael Hatamoto

UFC lightweights Donald Cerrone and Melvin Guillard will meet in the co-main event of UFC 150 next weekend, with fans hoping for an exciting standup battle.

There are no hard feelings between the two friends and former teammates as they prepare to fight one another.

“Cowboy is a stand-up guy.  I have respect for the guy,” Guillard said during a UFC 150 media call.  “We haven’t trained together since last October, almost close to a year. He’s a great and fast learner.”

The friends complemented one another several times during the conference call, and engaged in friendly banter throughout the call.

Cerrone and Guillard used to train with one another at Greg Jackson’s gym in New Mexico and were close friends – but they are willing to slug it out.  A victory will launch either fighter back into title contention, so there is clearly a lot riding on the fight.

Cerrone has trained and worked on his cardio in Vail, Colorado, while Guillard is expected to leave Florida tomorrow.

Striking should be interesting with Guillard able to land heavy shots, but Cerrone can mix in kicks and Muay Thai a bit more.  However, a grappling match will likely land in Cerrone’s favor, as he has a better overall submission skillset over Guillard.