Happy trails, “Young Assassin.”
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter Melvin Guillard stepped into the cage for the third time this year yesterday (Sat., Sept. 20, 2025) at Ragin FC 3, held inside Lake Charles Event Center in Lake Charles, Louisiana. For the first time since 2014, the veteran scored a victory in mixed martial arts (MMA), knocking out previously undefeated prospect Terry Wiggins
.The bout lasted less than 30 seconds. Wiggins came out aggressively, opening with a flying
knee that narrowly missed. He then shot for a takedown, but Guillard stuffed it with sharp elbows before blasting him with a knee in the clinch that sent Wiggins crashing to the canvas. Guillard pounced on him until the referee stepped in, sealing an emphatic first-round finish.
Watch the finish below:
After snapping his 11-fight losing streak, Guillard laid his gloves in the center of the cage, officially announcing his retirement from MMA. The moment felt fitting, as he both began and ended his career in his home state of Louisiana.
In a backstage post-fight interview, the 42-year-old reflected on his decision:
“It’s that time,” Guillard said. “I have well over 200 fights, and it’s been a great run, but I’m ready to do something else. I’m still young, and I have a great retirement check coming. I have no regrets.”
Guillard (33-24-2) made his UFC debut in 2006 at The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale, where he stopped Marcus Davis. Just two fights later, he was already headlining against Joe Stevenson. During his UFC tenure, Guillard faced off with names like Nate Diaz, Donald Cerrone, Jeremy Stephens, and Jim Miller. His post-UFC career was equally adventurous, taking on future champions and legends such as Justin Gaethje, Israel Adesanya, and Takanori Gomi across various promotions.
Though the back half of his combat sports journey was unforgiving—losing 17 of his final 19 contests, including a stint in bare-knuckle boxing—Guillard’s reputation never wavered. Win, lose, or draw, he was must-watch television, a true action fighter who always left it all in the cage.
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