February marks Black History Month, and to celebrate, I will be taking a moment to shine the spotlight on African-American athletes scheduled to compete this month in the world of professional mixed martial arts. We have… Melvin Guillard Bellator 149 “The Young Assassin” is 1-2 since being released from the UFC and is coming off a pair of split decision losses to Jusitn Gaethje and Brandon Girtz, respectively. This Friday night in his third fourth appearance inside the Bellator cage, he will be aiming to get back into the win column with an impressive victory over Bellator veteran Derek Campos. Guillard was a nine year UFC veteran and was released from the promotional following a unanimous decision loss to Michael Johnson, a fight in which he failed to engage. He was not on a losing streak, so his poor performance in that match-up resulted in him being released. At 32-years-old, Guillard believes he still has a lot of fight left in him. This next chapter of the UFC veteran’s life continues this Friday night. Emanuel Newton Bellator 149 Newton is coming off a first round submission loss to former UFC light heavyweight Phil Davies, the loss which followed a controversial unanimous decision to Liam McGeary, where he lost his Bellator light heavyweight title after five closely contested rounds of action. “The Hardcore Kid” is a well-rounded mixed martial artist who has excellent skills on the feet, owning recent spinning back first knockouts of King Mo Lawal and Joey Beltran, respectively. This Friday night at Bellator 149, he will be taking on Linton Vassell in a rematch of a fight that saw him victorious via fifth round rear naked choke submission. Jamie Yager WSOF 28 “The Chosyn 1” trains out of Kings MMA in Huntington Beach, CA under the tutelage of Master Rafael Cordeiro. He is coming off an extended injury layoff and has not seen action since a January 2013 first round TKO loss to Joe Williams under the Bellator. Prior to that bout, he suffered a second round guillotine choke submission against current UFC lightweight Joshua Burkman. Yager is most notably known for being a castmemebr on TUF 11; he lost to castmate Rich Clementi in the seasons finale and was released by the promotion, but since went on a four-fight winning streak that was halted by Burkman. After the extended layoff, the 32-year-old aims to get back on track by taking out Tom Gloudeman this Saturday night. Derek Brunson UFC Fight Night 83 North Carolina’s Derek Brunson is on a three fight winning streak in the UFC and will be looking to make it four in a row this Sunday night when he squares off against Roan Carneiro. He has been impressive in the UFC, going 5-1 in six Octagon appearances, with the lone defeat being a third round TKO against Yoel Romero, a fight in which he was up two rounds headed into the third. Brunson trains out of Jackson-Wink MMA in high-altitude Albuequrque, NM and has Top-5 potential. Currently ranked at #13 in the UFC’s middleweight rankings, I see him climbing towards the top 5 this year, and it all starts with a win over the #15 ranked Brazilian this Sunday night in Pittsburgh. and… Anthony Hamilton UFC Fight Night 83 “Freight Train” made his Octagon debut on the heels of a very impressive six-fight winning streak and has gone 2-2 in the promotion. He bounced back into the win column in his latest outing with a unanimous decision over Daniel Omielanczuk. The Seattle native trains out of Jackson-Wink MMA in high-altitude Albuequrque, NM and hopes to make an impact in the UFC’s heavyweight division in 2016. It all starts this Sunday night when he takes on Shamil Abdurakhimov on the Fight Pass prelims of the evening.
