UFC releases 'The Young Assassin' Melvin Guillard

The UFC cut ties with lightweight Melvin Guillard (31-13-2) on Friday, releasing "The Young Assassin" following his lackluster performance at UFC Fight Night 37 in London on March 8 that left him with a record of a 2-5 (with one No Contest) in his last eight fights.

The unanimous decision loss to Michael Johnson, in which Guillard ran away during most of the fight, seemed to be the last straw for UFC president Dana White.

"There’s no doubt Melvin ran the entire fight and was incredibly passive, the complete opposite of how he used to fight," White said after the fight, while refusing to comment on Guillard's future with the company. "There was a lot of smack talk leading up to that fight, and those are the fights that everybody gets excited about, and nine times out of 10 they end up like tonight. Those drive me crazy."

Guillard had been with the UFC since 2005, beginning as a contestant on the second season of The Ultimate Fighter. He received Knockout of the Night bonuses on three occasions and Fight of the Night twice in his nine years with the promotion.