Melvin Guillard vs. Thiago Tavares at UFC 101

Although UFC 101 has not even been officially announced by the UFC, news of fight agreements for the event has been popping up over the last few days.  MMA Weekly is now reporting that a lightweight tilt between Melvin "The Young Assassin" Guillard and Thiago Tavares is close to being finalized for the card:

With UFC 101 still several months away the promotion has already started to put together some of the match-ups on the card. On Monday, MMAWeekly.com confirmed that a lightweight bout between Thiago Tavares and Melvin Guillard would be added to the show.

The bout was confirmed by sources close to the fight who indicated the fight has been agreed to on the date of Aug 8 with bout agreements to follow shortly.

Melvin Guillard (21-7-2, 4-3 UFC) has been one of the UFC's brashest and most controversial fighters despite possessing some very gifted hands.  Known as much for his dynamic knockout power as for his poor submission defense, Guillard is an experienced veteran of over 30 fights and 7 years on the pro MMA circuit, but lapses in judgment have hindered the talented striker's career at various times.  A 2005 win over Roger Huerta was overturned and declared a no-contest after Huerta accused Guillard of greasing in between rounds.  After being submitted by Joe Stevenson in 2007, Guillard accused Joe Daddy of using steroids, only to be popped for cocaine use himself and suspended for 8 months.

By the time UFC 101 rolls around in August, Guillard will not have seen action in over a year, with a first-round knockout win against Dennis Siver at UFC 86 being the last time he fought.  Just one month after that fight, Guillard was arrested in Houston, Texas for violating probation that stemmed from a 2007 drug possession charge, thus nixing Guillard's participating in a bout with Spencer Fisher at UFC 90. Over the winter, there were rumors that Guillard would be facing newcomer Ronys Torres at the upcoming April 1st Fight Night, but an injury to Torres canceled that fight as well.

Thiago Tavares (14-3, 4-3 UFC) was a hyped young prospect when he debuted in the UFC in early 2007, and fans watched the young Brazilian mix his superb jiu-jitsu with devastating muay-thai.  Since then, the 25-year old has seen mixed success, easily dispatching lower-tier lightweights like Jason Black and Naoyuki Kotani, but struggling against stiffer competition in losses to Matt Wiman, Kurt Pellegrino, and Tyson Griffin.  Most recently, Tavares scored a unanimous decision victory over the now WEC-bound Manny Gamburyan at UFC 94.

In theory, Tavares should have no trouble submitting Guillard if he can get the Young Assassin to the ground.  But if Tavares trying to stand and trade with Guillard as he did with Matt Wiman, the Brazilian might find himself taking a little nap on the Octagon floor despite his muay thai skills, as Guillard's hands are simply lethal.