The Young Assassin strikes again
Melvin “The Young Assassin” Guillard surprised many MMA fans with a TKO upset win over world-ranked Evan Dunham at 2:58 of the first round in front of the troops at Fort Hood Army Base in Killeen, Texas, on Saturday night.
Guillard hurt Dunham early in the fight with a right hand jab and followed up with several hammer fists, which had the challenger in trouble.
Dunham was able to take Guillard to the canvas but Guillard fought back and got to his feet. He then connected on several right hands that sent Dunham to the canvas. Guillard followed with three more rights and three knees and referee Mario Yamasaki stopped the bout.
“I want my title shot ... no disrespect to anyone in my weight class, but I’m the best 155-pound fighter in the UFC,” Guillard said.
In the co-main event, Matt Mitrione stopped fellow heavyweight Tim Hague at 2:59 of the first round. Mitrione connected on a straight left jab and finished him with a right.
Mitrione. always the joker, said, “I want to thank my hands for being so good.”
Mark Hominick defeated George Roop by TKO on punches in the first round. With Hominick's win, he now earns a title shot against champion Jose Aldo for the UFC featherweight belt.
Asked about fighting Aldo next, Hominick said, “You just have to make statements with your performances and I believe I did that tonight. Jose next, and he’s best pound-for-pound but he’s never faced anyone like me and I’m going to go out there and prove it.”
Heavyweights Pat Barry and Joey “The Mexicutioner” Beltran both fought a hard three-round brawl for the troops, with Barry getting the decision. Barry, whose dad died in the military twenty-five years ago, said “the only thing me and my brother and sister have left from my dad is this (showing his dad's dog tag). My grandmother mailed this to us 20 years ago.”
On the undercard, Matt Wiman gets a unanimous decision over Cole Miller, Yves Edwards earned a submission win over Cody McKenzie with a rear-naked choke in the second round, DaMarques Johnson stopped Michael Guymon with a body triangle submission in the first round, Rani Yahya unanimously outpointed Mike Brown, Waylon Lowe won by unanimously decision over Willamy Freire, Charlie Brenneman took a unanimous decision over Amilcar Alves, and Chris Cariaso earned a unanimous decision over Will Campuzano.
Kevin Richardson has been a fan of mixed martial arts competition ever since UFC 3, when 600-pound sumo wrestler Emmanuel Yarborough was beaten by Keith Hackney. Kevin will cover the world of MMA — in Baltimore, nationally and internationally. He plans to take readers into the locker rooms and MMA schools, where they'll hear from local fighters and trainers. If you have a news tip or suggestions for the blog, please 
