It was revealed earlier today that Melvin Guillard had been released from the UFC following his unanimous decision defeat against Michael Johnson at UFC Fight Night 37.
With Guillard now a free agent, speculation began about the future of the now former UFC fighter and if he could end up in Bellator.
TheMMAReport.com reached out to Bellator MMA Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney about whether his organization would be interested in signing Guillard, but he said they will not be making him a contract offer.
“Melvin’s management reached out to us early this morning via email, but we will not be making an offer to Melvin,” Rebney said. “He’s had some great fights. But, our Lightweight division is stacked and we’re heavily focused on our Lightweight developmental program.”
Guillard (31-13-2, 2NC) initially made his debut in the UFC after being a contestant on the second season of “The Ultimate Fighter.” After being released following his defeat to Rich Clementi at the end of 2007, he returned to the organization the following year and would go on to win seven of his next eight fights.
Since that run, he only has two wins in eight fights and is 1-2, 1NC in his last four. Following his defeat to Johnson earlier this month at UFC Fight Night 37, Guillard drew heavy criticism from UFC President Dana White on his performance in the fight.
“There’s no doubt Melvin ran the entire fight and was incredibly passive, the complete opposite of how he used to fight,” White said during the post fight press conference. “There was a lot of smack talk leading up to that fight, and those are the fights that everybody gets excited about, and nine times out of 10 they end up like tonight. Those drive me crazy.”
With Bellator not being an option for Guillard, a potential landing spot for Guillard could be the World Series of Fighting. They have signed several former UFC fighters after they have been released, and could be a potential opponent down the road for lightweight champion Justin Gaethje.