An MMA Thanksgiving: 2014 All-Turkey Team

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Melvin Guillard

With each passing incident, it becomes harder and harder to sympathize with Guillard. Talent only earns one so much forgiveness.

Guillard’s resume is littered with maddening behavior. A March 2005 victory over Roger Huerta was changed to a no-contest after Guillard was accused of greasing between rounds. He signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship soon after and went 3-1 in his first four appearances with the organization, setting up a showdown with Joe Stevenson in a UFC Fight Night headliner. Ahead of the matchup, Guillard accused “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 2 winner of using human growth hormone. Talk was cheap, as he submitted to a Stevenson guillotine choke in 27 seconds and then tested positive for cocaine in an embarrassing sequence of events.

“The Young Assassin” has also been something of a vagabond in terms of his training over the past five years, bouncing from Jackson-Wink MMA -- where he enjoyed his most sustained run of success -- to the Blackzilians to Grudge Training Center to American Top Team. Stability, needless to say, is not his strong suit. Guillard has also done little to endear himself to promoters, having missed weight three times in his past seven appearances. Nevertheless, the 31-year-old was scheduled to challenge Justin Gaethje for the World Series of Fighting lightweight championship on Nov. 15; it represented his first crack at a major MMA title. Never one to shy away from a tape recorder or microphone, Guillard unleashed his lips in a pre-fight interview with MMAMania.com: “Gaethje is nowhere near my level. I’m an A-list fighter, fighting in the B league.”

Of course, A-list fighters tend to pay meticulous attention to important details -- like keeping their weight in check. On the eve the most important fight of his career, Guillard showed up, hit the scales and came in a ridiculous four pounds beyond the 155-pound limit. Out the window went his title shot. The next day, Guillard dropped a three-round decision to the guy who was supposedly “nowhere near” his level. It went down as an opportunity missed and cemented his place on the All-Turkey roster.

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