UFC veteran ends 11-fight losing streak, retires after 59-fight MMA career

Originally posted on MMA on SI | By Drew Beaupre | Last updated Sep 22, 2025 7:43 AM ET

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UFC veteran Melvin Guillard officially brought his fighting career to an end after snapping an 11-fight losing streak in MMA.

A competitor on Season 2 of The Ultimate Fighter in 2005, Guillard already had 20 pro fights under his belt by the time he joined the UFC’s reality TV show and lost a unanimous decision to Josh Burkman in their first-round welterweight bout.

The 42-year-old went on to have a lengthy run with the UFC before he exited the promotion in 2014, and Guillard has finally decided to hang up his gloves for good after scoring a quick finish over the formerly-undefeated Terry Wiggins at Ragin FC 3 last weekend.

Melvin Guillard Finally Ends Losing Streak At Ragin FC 3

Taking place at the Lake Charles Event Center in Lake Charles, Louisiana, Ragin FC 3 also saw UFC veteran Joshua Weems step into the cage for a grappling match with Drake Pelligrin before Guillard and Wiggins met in a welterweight MMA bout.

Guillard was entering the cage for the third time in 2025 after fighting just a month apart at Ohio Combat League 38 and Fury FC 106. “The Young Assassin” was submitted by Josiah Harrell in May before being knocked out by Isaac Moreno, which brought his overall losing streak in MMA to 11 fights.

Undeterred by the fact that he hadn’t won in MMA since his first post-UFC outing against Gesisas Cavalcante at World Series of Fighting 11 in 2016, Guillard made Wiggins pay for an early takedown attempt with some nasty elbows before he landed a knee that set up a quick finish on the mat.

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"The Young Assassin" Began His MMA Career in 2002

Guillard did take plenty of heat online for the fact that he appeared to land a number of shots to the back of Wiggins’ head during the fight’s finishing sequence, but the 42-year-old seemed to be in high spirits after ending his MMA career with a victory.

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After winning his UFC debut against Marcus Davis in 2005, Guillard’s best run with the promotion came during a stretch from early 2010 to mid 2011 where he put together a five-fight win streak. His wins during that run included longtime UFC veterans Jeremy Stephens and Evan Dunham, but Guillard exited the UFC in 2014 after going 1-5 with one No Contest during his next seven outings.

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“The Young Assassin” moved on to World Series of Fighting and lost a split decision to future interim UFC lightweight titleholder Justin Gaethje before a four-fight run with Bellator. Guillard began competing in bareknuckle boxing alongside MMA starting in 2017, and that year also saw the 42-year-old suffer knockout-losses to current UFC welterweight Muslim Salikhov and former two-time UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya.