This looked like an exciting fight on paper, but it didn’t quite pan out that way in reality at UFC Fight Night 37 in the UK tonight with Michael Johnson doing enough to get the better of an overly cautious Melvin Guillard over the course of three rounds.
Round One:
Guillard with the jab and Johnson unleashes a few slightly wild punches.
Johnson looking for kicks and Guillard unleashes a solid knee strike to the body. Leg kick and body kick from Johnson.
Push kick from Guillard to create distance, but a kick to the groin from Johnson forces a brief stoppage.
Back to it they go and Johnson lands a leg kick. Johnson with an aggressive combination and Guillard does well to bob and weave out the way of most of it.
Couple of leg kicks for Johnson. Guillard responds with a body kick. Guillard misses with a looping strike and Johnson can’t capitalize on the counter.
Johnson thinks about locking up and looking for a takedown, but decides to separate. Johnson’s been pushing the pace so far and Guillard’s waiting to counter which is frustrating Johnson a little.
Johnson comes forward aggressively and Guillard uncorks a powerful uppercut that connects. Johnson eats it though and tries to get a takedown.
He gets it, but Guillard springs right back up to his feet and lands a knee as his opponent rises. The two men trade a couple of punches one last time before the round closes.
Round Two:
They clash in close at the start of the round and Guillard gets the better of it with short shots.
Both men keeping a fair amount of distance between them now, both looking poised to land a big shot.
Johnson still working in the occasional leg kick. He lands a punch to the mid-section. Body kick lands too.
Guillard presses forward with punches, but doesn’t find the target, then ducks under a counter from Johnson.
Little leg kick from Guillard catches Johnson by suprise a little. Nice counter punch from Johnson as Guillard comes forward.
Johnson throws his hands in the air in frustration as Guillard continues to stay on the outside rather than meet him toe-to-toe.
Johnson lands a big punch out of nowhere and suddenly Guillard is in trouble against the cage. Johnson unleashes a barrage of blows and a knee connects that buckles Guillard’s legs momentarily, but he catches himself before he hits the canvas and is back up.
He manages to weather the storm and that’s the end of the round.
Round Three:
Guillard pressing forward with punches to start the third round, but it doesn’t pay off for him as Johnson avoids the blows and then lands a takedown.
Guillard does a good job of quickly working back to his feet. Bit of a stalemate here as the two fighters attempt kicks from range, but don’t land.
Half-way through the round and one of these two has to really make their mark here. A kick from Johnson wings over Guillard’s head. Then Johnson does manage to connect with a hard blow and initiates another flurry of blows against the cage.
Johnson in the clinch now, but can’t do anything with it and as they break Guillard lands a solid punch.
Guillard presses in and Johnson sends him back with a straight punch. More blows from Johnson and Guillard looks hurt. He’s motioning that he’s been poked in the eye, but the ref isn’t stopping the action and Johnson tries to capitalize with lefts and rights.
Guillard seems ok, but he’s just not got his game going tonight and isn’t able to mount any significant offense in the final seconds.
Decision:
Not a great fight by any stretch of the imagination, but Johnson definitely had the better moments in the fight and pushed the pace throughout, and that’s reflected in the scorecards as he wins by unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28).
