For the second consecutive time, Bare Knuckle FC’s attempt at booking former UFC fighter Melvin Guillard has been blocked.
The Colorado Combative Sports Commission said Thursday that it won’t allow Guillard to compete after BKFC had announced his return against promotional newcomer Evgeny Kurdanov for BKFC 31 on Oct. 15 at 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, Colo.
“Mr. Guillard is not currently licensed in Colorado and the Oct. 15 bout will not take place as scheduled,” the commission said in a statement to MMA Junkie.
In a prior statement to MyMMANews, the commission said, “We value the safety of all athletes in Colorado and after further research have decided to disallow this fight.”
Colorado’s decision comes eight months after Guillard, 39, was pulled from a Feb. 19 fight booking vs. Ulysses Diaz. In that instance, the Florida Commission, in conjunction with the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports (ABC), intervened to stop Guillard from competing.
The ABC also cited Guillard’s health as the reason why.
“After doing due diligence, the executive director Patrick Cunningham found a serious concern with the health of Melvin Guillard,” ABC said in a statement then. The association also placed Guillard on suspension pending a neurological exam.
Guillard is on a seven-fight losing streak combined between MMA and bare-knuckle and has lost 14 of his past 15 fights. He’s 0-4 in BKFC after most recently losing to Joe Riggs by knockout in 59 seconds at BKFC Fight Night: Montana in October 2021.
With the change, the full BKFC 31 lineup includes:
- Mike Richman vs. Isaac Doolittle
- Brandon Girtz vs. Jake Lindsey
- Josh Copeland vs. Levi Costa
- Chris Camozzi vs. Bubba McDaniel
- Evgeny Kurdanov vs. opponent TBA
- Cory Madden vs. Christian Torres
- Nolan McGlaughlin vs. Andrew Yates
- Danny O’Connor vs. Van Vo
- Gabriel Mota vs. Josh Todd
- Khortini Kamyron vs. Crystal Pittman
- Keegan Vandermeer vs. Jeb Vincent
