Well, there's no doubt that my interview last week with Melvin Guillard caused quite a stir in the MMA world. That blog entry was my most commented entry since I began blogging for baltimoresun.com (second place goes to two entries in which I discussed the Hamill-Bisping judging controversy at UFC 75).

Commenter sentiment was decidedly anti-Guillard. Reading through the comments, it appears that Guillard's statements fed into an already negative impression readers had about him. And, boy were commenters colorful in their responses! Many commenters seem to want the UFC to cut ties with the lightweight as soon as possible and clearly won't miss him. A number of you feel that Guillard doesn't represent the UFC or the sport of MMA very well.

I knew as I was doing the interview that Guillard's statements were explosive, but I also think he may have been joking in some instances. Now, I don't know Guillard personally (and I'm certainly not trying to defend him) but I don't take his claim that he would "kill" Rich Clementi or his claim that he would be robbing banks if he wasn't fighting at face value. But, his comments about "killing" Clementi were taken seriously by a number of you.

What I do take seriously is that Guillard doesn't like Clementi at all. And, I do think his responses in the second half of the interview were quite instructive (and a few of you noticed.) Guillard appears to recognize that he must improve his game and also appears to understand that he has made some mistakes. Of course, by that point in the interview, most of you were seething.

Just as a note, I did indeed confirm with the UFC that Guillard has been given permission to fight outside the Octagon to get some wins under his belt and that once he does, he'll be allowed back.

But, even his comments about only fighting strikers for a while irked many of you who believe that MMA is an all-around sport that includes the ground game.

Guillard also mentioned Roger Huerta as a future opponent. As some of you rightly pointed out, Guillard and Huerta have already fought, once in 2005. Initially, Guillard won a split decision but the result was overturned to a "no contest" after it was determined that Guillard had greased his body, making it difficult for Huerta to grasp him. For those of you already down on "The Young Assassin," this news may come as no surprise. Unfortunately, the recent pattern of behavior may have roots from at least that long ago. Here's video of that Guillard-Huerta fight:

http://www.veoh.com/videos/v1619042pNPc4TfW

Anyway, I hope to catch up with Guillard later in the year to see how he's doing with his comeback. Be sure to stay tuned for that interview...