UFC
UFC on FX 1's Melvin Guillard discusses move from Greg Jackson to the Blackzilians
Jan 16, 2012 - 2:00:12 PM UFC on FX 1's Melvin Guillard discusses move from Greg Jackson to the Blackzilians

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Melvin Guillard's resurgence in the lightweight division coincided with his move to Greg Jackson's camp in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but as he attempts to rebound from a loss to Joe Lauzon in his last bout, Guillard has moved on from Jackson's.

The 28-year-old Guillard has made the transition to Florida and the Blackzilians camp, co-founded by his former Jackson's teammate Rashad Evans. However, unlike Evans, Guillard's exit from Jackson's camp was not contentious, and he contends that it was simply a decision he needed to make.

"Both camps are great, both sets of coaches are awesome," Guillard said in an interview with MMAWeekly.com. "It's just a decision I had to make for myself professionally. Did I want to split the time? Yeah, I did, but it's kind of like trying to work for Exxon and work for Shell. You won't be able to split your time between both. Cause both of those companies wouldn't allow it.

"So it came to one of those points in my life where I had to make a grown-up decision. Kind of an executive decision, and this is the decision I made."

Guillard hopes to get back on track this Friday night in the headlining slot on UFC on FX 1. He's taking on another former top contender in Jim Miller, and he knows how prepared he needs to be for the matchup. At this stage in his career, the move to Florida was simply something that made the most sense for him.

"I didn't leave Jackson's in a bad way," Guillard insisted. "I love those coaches to death, love that team, and if anything every occurs and I have to go back to Jackson's, I hope I'm still welcome, because I didn't leave in the wrong way..."

"As fighters we have to make the decision who's going to get us ready to take us to that next level. At the end of the day, all this hype about which coach is better than who, at the end of the day we're the ones in there doing the job. We're the ones that have to get in there and bust our butts. All they can do is give direction and make things go from there."

Penick's Analysis: Jackson had done a very solid job in helping Guillard's approach to several fights, and Guillard was looking like a much more patient and focused fighter prior to the Lauzon lost. He got caught in that fight, and has made the decision to move on with a new team, something that has happened with many fighters before him. It's good for all parties involved that there wasn't a contentious split here, as that could have led to more distraction for Guillard, but hopefully for his sake the move is a positive one. He's got a big fight on Friday night, and if he shows up the way he had for the five fights before the Lauzon bout, he has a very good chance of moving back into the mix.