Melvin Guillard: I Thought It Was Legal And He Was Out Already

Melvin Guillard was well on his way to adding Ross Pearson to his list of knockout victims in the co-main event of last night’s UFC Fight Night 30 from Manchester, England.

Unfortunately, a potential win was changed to a No-Contest hen the brutal knees he landed on Person were deemed illegal. The replay showed that Pearson’s fingers may have grazed the mat ever so slightly in between strikes, but was highly up to interpretation.

It was certain that a huge cut had been opened up on Pearson’s forehead and the bout was stopped. Guillard spoke up at the UFN 30 Post-Fight Show to discuss the strange stoppage and express his desire to fight once again before rematching Pearson:

“It was a close call. It could have been a hairline faster. I watched it and I thought it was legal because he went limp and was out already. I never would intentionally hurt one of my opponents. He’s a friend of mine. It’s a grey area. Rules are rules. They are there to protect us. I’ve been in MMA since before they had rules. I grew up with the sport and the rules are there to protect us. I was penalized by it and it was ruled a no contest. It sucks. I had him hurt and I could have finished him. I want to fight someone else now. I want to keep fighting. I want to fight on the December 28 card in Vegas, but I’ll fight Ross again when he’s ready. I’ll come back to England.”

Guillard appears re-motivated and ready to make more waves in the UFC lightweight division. Since a much-publicized slide from 2011-2012, Guillard nearly notched his second straight knockout last night. With it already announced that he and Pearson will rematch next March in London, “The Young Assassin” does not want to wait that long.

UFC 168 featuring Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva, Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate, and Josh Barnett vs. Travis Browne, is an absolute blockbuster of a card that would only get more exciting with the addition of Guillard. Was he robbed in Manchester? And whom should he fight if he indeed does end up on the UFC 168 card?