UFC veteran lightweight Melvin Guillard has been released by the organization. "The Young Assassin" is mired in a 2-5 skid with one no contest that was capped off by a disappointing unanimous decision loss to Michael Johnson at UFC Fight Night 38 in London on March 8. His manager Malki Kawa announced his release Thursday night. "Theres no doubt Melvin ran the entire fight and was incredibly passive, the complete opposite of how he used to fight," UFC president Dana White said of Guillards last performance. "There was a lot of smack talk leading up to that fight, and those are the fights that everybody gets excited about, and nine times out of 10 they end up like tonight. Those drive me crazy. "I was excited for that fight. I thought (they were) both really explosive athletes who can mix it up really well, and it just didnt happen tonight." The loss was a last straw of sorts for the inconsistent Guillard. Despite being awarded Knockout of the Night on three spearate occasions, the New Orleans native never established himself among the lightweight divisions elite. Guillard debuted in the octagon during the second season of "The Ultimate Fighter" in 2005. From 2008 to late 2011, Guillard put together his finest run, scoring eight wins in nine fights but failed to defeat household lightweight names like Nate Diaz, Joe Lauzon and Jim Miller. Guillard leaves the UFC with the third most wins, most knockdowns and most knockouts in lightweight history. Authentic Soccer Jerseys 2018 . - Free agent defensive end Will Smith has signed with the New England Patriots. Wholesale NFL Store . The hard-serving 22-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., became the first Canadian to be ranked in the Top 10 on the ATP World Tour thanks to his runner-up performance at Rogers Cup in Montreal. http://www.wholesalejerseysfromchinashop.com/. The eighth-year point guard played in his 500th career game on Sunday, a 98-93 win over the Orlando Magic. Does he feel like hes played in that many games? "No," he said initially, before reconsidering. Cheap Soccer Jerseys . Amid a rain of confetti, Shabazz Napier basked in the celebration on the court after being named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four following the 60-54 win over Kentucky. Cheap Pittsburgh Steelers Jerseys . While Minnesota takes aim at its eighth win of November, the Canadiens will try to post just their third victory in nine games this month. MASON, Ohio -- Venus Williams left her winning touch in Canada. Williams knocked off sister Serena while reaching the finals in Montreal on Sunday, finishing runner-up. She lost to Lucie Safarova 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-4 in the first round Tuesday. "I wish I could have felt today like I did in Montreal, just to make it more competitive," Williams said. The tournament lost its other defending champion when Victoria Azarenka withdrew because of an injured right knee. Williams had an energizing week in Canada and hoped to keep their momentum going in Cincinnati, using it as a springboard to the U.S. Open. But her successful week came with a cost. Williams arrived Sunday night and opened Tuesday morning, leaving little time to recover from her deep tournament run. "Yeah, it was definitely a quick turnaround," she said. "Maybe it would have been a little better to play a little later in the day. But I think she just played so well. No matter what shot I hit, she hit a winner." Safarova led 5-2 in the third set and appeared to have won a match point, but Williams challenged and the call was overturned. Williams rallied to win the set and then another. "Thats a terrible feeling," Safarova said. "You think youve won and you have those emotions, and suddenly, youre back iin the match against a great player.dddddddddddd Then she broke me, and I thought, Uh, oh. Ive lost matches on challenges before. I told myself, Im not losing this one." Azarenkas withdrawal is the latest setback in a season full of injuries. Shes been sidelined for much of the year with an ailing left foot. She aggravated an injury to her right knee at Montreal, where she lost in the quarter-finals, and hoped a few days of rest would take care of it. She decided to withdraw after practising Tuesday morning. "I started to feel a little bit better and did everything I could, but its just not enough time for me to feel good to play a full match," she said. "Im going to get more treatment and get more work done and should be good for the U.S. Open." Fifth-seeded Maria Sharapova broke Madison Keys to go up 3-0 in the final set and held on for a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 win that was gratifying. She was coming off a loss in the third round at Montreal. "I didnt have a great week last week," she said. "No matter who is across the net, its never easy going out in the first round because you want to change that result around. You want to change your attitude and your performance and obviously the result." ------ Freelance writer Mark Schmetzer contributed to this report. ' ' '