Melvin Guillard may have been a bit confused when he asked for a match up with “Jeremy Stevenson” following his first round technical knockout victory at UFC 114, but the Ultimate Fighting Championship knew exactly what he was asking for. A lightweight match up between Guillard and heavy-hitter Jeremy Stephens has been set for the main card of UFC 119.
The match up was reported by MMAjunkie.com earlier today, who learned of the bout from sources close to the event.
Guillard had always been a solid lightweight inside the Octagon, but following a submission loss to Nate Diaz last year, he joined forces with mixed martial arts coach Greg Jackson in an attempt to break through to a 155-pound title shot. Since the change, Guillard has displayed a much more disciplined style of fighting en route to consecutive victories over Ronys Torres and Waylon Lowe. He is 5-1 in his last six appearances in the promotion.
Much like Guillard, Stephens, a powerful striker fighting out of Iowa, has been hit-or-miss throughout his days in the UFC, currently holding a record of 5-4 with the promotion. As of late, however, Stephens has developed into a force in the 155-pound mix, winning his last two fights. At “UFC Fight Night 19”, Stephens viciously knocked out Justin Buchholz and followed the Knockout of the Night performance with an upset victory over Sam Stout at UFC 113.
Guillard and Stephens will each look to continue to build closer to title contention in the lightweight division at UFC 119, which is expected to take place at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana this fall. September 25 is the expected date of the event, and the two lightweights will share a spot on this card with the only other rumored bout, a heavyweight match up between Joey Beltran and Matt Mitrione.