UFC's Melvin Guillard receives suspended sentence for 2010 assault charge

UFC lightweight Melvin Guillard‘s fight career will proceed as usual after receiving a suspended sentence on a pair of assault charges from 2010.

Guillard (30-12-2 MMA, 11-7 UFC), who is scheduled to fight Mac Danzig next month at UFC on FOX 8, was ruled guilty on two counts of aggravated battery and given 364 days in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Bernalillo County, N.M., all of which were suspended by a judge.

In avoiding jail, the 30-year-old fighter was given supervised probation through June 25, 2015, and must complete 40 hours of community service in addition to paying court fees.

Sports Illustrated’s Melissa Segura first reported the sentence, which was later confirmed by MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

The assault charges came to light this past March when Guillard attempted to move from the Blackzilians MMA team to his previous home at Jackson-Winkeljohn’s MMA. A source close to the New Mexico-based team said the fighter wasn’t welcome back at the gym.

After a brief limbo, Guillard took residence at Wheat Ridge, Colo.’s Grudge Training Center to work with the gym’s head trainer Trevor Wittman, with whom he’d briefly trained.

Guillard pleaded not guilty to the assault charges and told ESPN.com he was actually the victim in the assault case, which stemmed from an altercation with five bouncers at a nightclub.

A career turnaround is badly needed for “The Young Assassin,” who’s lost four of five in the octagon after a five-fight win streak that put him on a short list of contenders in the 155-pound division.

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