In his senior year he won the state wrestling title and soon took up boxing and jiu-jitsu. His first MMA bout was a case of being in the right place at the right time. He was attending a show to corner teammate Warren Donley but a competitor fell out of one of the bouts and Melvin took their place.
Guillard won the bout with a first round knockout and continued to fight MMA from that point on. He also took up Muay Thai and competed regularly in kickboxing matches when he wasn’t competing in MMA.
His professional record dates back to 2002.
Guillard scored victories in the first six Battle of New Orleans shows (including a decision win over Joe Jordan (Pictures)) as well as competing in the Art of War, the Freestyle Fighting Championships and the International Combat Sport Federation. He stopped Aaron Williams and Paul Purcell (Pictures) with strikes in the FFC and submitted Justin Weiman in the ICSF.
Melvin didn’t lose until he was 11-0 as a pro. He was choked out by Carlos Prater at FFC 5 and then lost a unanimous decision to Jake Short (Pictures) at FFC 8. It didn’t faze the Louisiana native, who won his next two bouts with strikes before returning home.
His return to the Battle of New Orleans promotion resulted in a draw and a loss KOTC veteran Ryan Stout. Melvin won a bout in the FFC and drew with Miletich fighter Laverne Clark and went back to the ICSF (going 1-1) to finish 2004.
The following year he became a cast member of The Ultimate Fighter season two and his future would be changed forever. He had four bouts that year before the TUF started filming and he made it to the final of the FFC 14 eight-man tournament. Melvin beat Darnell Smith and Peter Kaljevic before a controversial bout with Roger Huerta (Pictures) in the final was ruled a No Contest. On TUF, Guillard lost to a unanimous decision to Josh Burkman (Pictures) in just the second episode. He would resurface at the show’s finale and open a cut on cast-mate Marcus Davis. He was on his way to defeating Josh Neer (Pictures) (who was also cut) at Ultimate Fight Night 3 but “The Dentist” would not give up and eventually submitted Guillard via triangle choke in the first round. DAVIS: Las Vegas native Rick Davis (Pictures), 3-0-1 as a pro in MMA, is a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He trains at the Las Vegas Combat Club with former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir (Pictures), TUF season one competitor Alex Schoenauer (Pictures), veteran Heath Herring (Pictures) and instructor Ricardo Pires. He is a full-time fourth grade teacher in Las Vegas and has a degree in Education. Rick won a decision over Charles Bennett (Pictures) at World Extreme Fighting Championships 1 in his MMA debut in June of 2002. Had back to back wins in 2003, pounding Cade Swallows at HOOKnSHOOT AFC 2 and then knocking out WEC vet Nick Ertl (Pictures) with an impressive spinning back fist at a SHOOTO USA show.
Davis last fought MMA in June of 2004 at the Ironheart Crown 7 show in Indiana. There he fought to a draw with Henry Matamoros (Pictures).
MY PICK: Guillard. This one has me scratching my head. It looks like a last-minute fill-job but was set up at least a month ago. Davis may put on a great fight and everyone will be wondering where he’s been hiding but I have my doubts. The “Young Assassin” appears to have been given the opportunity to shine in the cage, but it is unlikely most of America will see it unless it is a 30-second affair. Guillard by KO in the first round.