Former Teammates Ready For Friendly Battle Tonight
Donald Cerrone used to have his friend and teammate Melvin Guillard over to his house for barbecue.
Tonight in Denver, the two mixed-martial-arts fighters — no longer teammates but still friends — will try to barbecue each other.
Cerrone (18-4), who trains at Albuquerque’s Jackson-Winkeljohn Mixed Martial Arts, and Guillard (30-10-2) will meet in the co-main event of UFC 150 at the Pepsi Center. Guillard is a former Jackson’s fighter who now trains with Blackzilians at the Jaco Hybrid Training Center in Delray Beach, Fla.
The fighters say neither Guillard’s decision to leave Jackson-Winkeljohn last October nor their impending battle in the octagon has negatively affected their relationship.
In fact, Cerrone did most of his training for the fight in Vail, Colo., not in Albuquerque, partly for Guillard’s benefit.
“Melvin and I trained together with Greg (Jackson),” Cerrone said last week on a UFC conference call. “... I kind of went away from Greg on this fight a little bit and just did my own thing — not any reason other than I didn’t want Melvin to think Greg was giving me all (Guillard’s) secrets and whatnot.”
Guillard left Jackson-Winkeljohn, he says, simply to grow as a fighter and learn additional skills. At Blackzilians, he’s adopted a Dutch style of kickboxing while working with standup coach Henri Hooft.
Regarding Jackson-Winkeljohn, Guillard said, he expresses only respect.
Regarding Cerrone, he said, “He’s like family.”
Of Guillard, Cerrone said, “We hang out; he’s a great guy. He’s been over to my house for barbecue, and after this fight, he’ll be welcome back again.”
None of this friendship and respect, of course, will prevent Cerrone from trying to take Guillard apart tonight — and vice versa.
“I like Melvin,” Cerrone said, “but I am going to beat him up like he’s any other fighter.” Back atcha, Guillard said. “Of course I’m gonna beat Cowboy Cerrone,” he says on a UFC video. “I’m gonna knock Cowboy out.”
Two other Jackson-Winkeljohn fighters are on tonight’s card. Middleweight Buddy Roberts (12-2) takes on Japanese veteran Yushin Okami (26-7). Bantamweight Erik “Goyito” Perez (11-4) faces Floridian Ken Stone (11-3).
The Cerrone-Guillard and Roberts-Okami fights will be televised on the pay-per-view portion of the card, starting at 8 p.m. MDT. The Perez-Stone fight will be part of a telecast on FX, starting at 6.
KING OF THE CAGE: Albuquerque bantamweight Donald Sanchez (26-13), who trains at Albuquerque’s FIT-NHB gym, faces Jimmy Van Horn of Malvern, Ark., tonight in the main event of a King of the Cage MMA card at Buffalo Thunder Casino & Resort, near Pojoaque.
Sanchez’s KOTC 135-pound title will be at stake. Van Horn, listed as 4-6 by sherdog.com and as 6-7 by mixedmartialarts.com, was a late replacement.
“Many opponents backed out,” Sanchez said via text.
TYSON IS BACK: Española native Monica Lovato was to have fought on Saturday’s KOTC card but withdrew after her Yorkshire terrier, Tyson, disappeared from her backyard on July 11.
The good news: Tyson has been found and returned to her. Lovato posted on her Facebook page that a Taos couple bought the dog, then discovered it was Tyson. Lovato picked up the dog July 26.
The interruption in her training, however, prevented Lovato from reinstatement on tonight’s card.
JONES SIGNS WITH NIKE: Jackson-Winkeljohn’s Jon Jones (16-1), the UFC light heavyweight champion, has signed a multi-year sponsorship contract with Nike.
“Blessed to be signed by the biggest sports apparel company in the world #NIKE Dreams do come true,” Jones tweeted on Wednesday.
Jones is scheduled to defend his title against Dan Henderson (29-8) in the main event of UFC 151 on Sept. 1 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nev.
UPCOMING: FIT-NHB lightweight Tim Means (18-3) is scheduled to face Iowan Abel Trujillo (9-4) on the Jones-Henderson undercard. ... Santa Fe’s Isaac Vallie-Flagg (13-3), who trains at Jackson-Winkeljohn, has a Sept. 29 fight in Sacramento, Calif., against Brazil’s Adriano Martins (23-6) on a Strikeforce show.