Melvin Guillard and the Blackzillians…
Source | bleacherreport.com
“I guess what happened was everybody read the tweet saying I was going back, and there were other things that happened,” related Guillard. “Some of the guys voted whether or not I was going to be able to go back or not, and some of the team was okay for it; some of the team wasn’t. Coach Greg calls me up and tells me ‘Melvin, some of the guys are for it, some aren’t, so for right now my answer would have to be no. Maybe if some of the guys over time have a change of heart or whatever then it can be yes at some point, but just not right now.’ I still have the invitation, it’s still a possibility I can go, but at this point in my career I just turned 30 years old; I’m beginning that journey down the hill.
“I’m on the down slope of my career, and right now it’s about getting as many wins as I can, and being able to even fight for a UFC lightweight title.”
“There’s no hard feelings. It is what it is.”
Guillard said the move from Jackson’s to the Florida-based Blackzilian team was good for his home life, but the 1-4 record during his time with the team speaks for itself.
“It was just me as a person, on a chemistry side I just didn’t fit,” said Guillard.”I just felt like it was time to go. I’ve got to go somewhere where I can get back to winning fights. Right now my job is probably on the line and my upcoming fight is a must-win fight. I feel like I need to do good work to get that win. That’s why my decision was made.
“I was kind of like a loner. I was an outsider. I was there when it was time to train, but I just didn’t think it was fair to the other guys that were there. I think that was a reason why I had to leave as well—because it wasn’t being fair to the other guys on the team.”
“Pat Barry called me when the tweets started going around that I got denied at Jackson’s. Pat Barry calls me and goes ‘I want you to call Coach Leister, he’s the wrestling coach out there at MusclePharm, and he works with a lot of great guys.’ Me and Pat go way back since New Orleans, fighting when I was 16 years old. Pat’s been like my big brother my whole career.”
“Coach Trevor welcomed me with open arms. We put everything out on the table up front, we discussed what we needed to discuss and now we’re on the same page. It works.”
“It’s like watching that Rocky III movie. It’s like where you lose that hunger and you’ve got to go back to where you started and go back to the gutter and get hungry again. That’s kind of how I feel sleeping in this basement (at Grudge). I need this basement, I’m going to stay down here in this basement. Right now I’m loving my little basement cot.”