LAS VEGAS -- So, the UFC 148 lightweight bout between Melvin Guillard and Fabricio Camoes figured to end with either Guillard knocking Camoes cold, or Camoes submitting "The Young Assassin," right? Wrong.
With the capacity crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena alternating "USA" and "Brazil" chants, Guillard and Camoes engaged in a tightly contested, 15-minute battle. In the end, Guillard got the nod, taking 30-27 scores across the board.
Camoes appeared to have stolen the first round in the final minute, as he got full mount on Guillard and opened up with a ground-and-pound assault. But Guillard not only escaped, but followed up on a missed spinning back kick attempt by Camoes and nearly finished him on the ground before Camoes was saved by the bell.
The final two rounds by and large featured Guillard keeping Camoes honest with his standup, and sprawling most of his takedown attempts. Camoes went for a knee bar in the fight's final seconds, but Guillard escaped.
The victory was pivotal for Guillard (30-10-2, 1 no-contest), who had dropped two straight fights after a five-fight win streak. Camoes had a three-fight win streak snapped and dropped to 13-7-1.