Melvin Guillard

By Michael Hatamoto

MMA veteran Melvin Guillard has officially joined American Top Team, as he prepares for a fight next month inside the UFC cage.

Guillard previously left the Florida-based Blackzilians camp, and tried to head back to Greg Jackson’s team in New Mexico, but was turned away. Instead, Guillard went to the Grudge Training Center in Colorado as he continued to train and look for a more permanent camp to call home.

Guillard has lost four of last six fights, but was able to pick up a solid knockout win against Mac Danzig in his most recent outing at UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Moraga. The KO against Danzig helped Guillard win the Knockout of the Night award.

I previously wrote this story about Guillard, and while he proved me wrong in the Danzig fight, I still wonder how much success he’ll be able to find.

I think switching things up and heading to ATT will give Guillard the type of disciplined training he needs to remain a UFC lightweight fighter. Most notably, it’ll be good to see Guillard work on his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu defense, which ATT should certainly be able to help with.

Guillard is popular among casual MMA fans for his stand and bang brawling style, and holds eight KO/TKO victories – the most of any UFC lightweight – inside the octagon.

Guillard will step into the cage next month against Ross Pearson during UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Munoz in Manchester, England, on October 26. Follow Full Contact Fighter to learn how Guillard does with additional training with the ATT team – and full results of UFC Fight Night card next month.