In the latest of a series of interviews given since his signing with Bellator MMA, Melvin Guillard opened up about the path that led him to the Viacom-owned promotion.

Guillard now claims it was UFC matchmaker Joe Silva’s decision to release him from the UFC in 2014 – but the industry leader’s welcome mat was never pulled back.

“I talked with (UFC President Dana White) when I got released,” he told MMAjunkie Radio. “My release was finalized by Joe Silva. It wasn’t Dana, it wasn’t (UFC Chairman) Lorenzo (Fertitta).

“Dana was like, ‘Hey kid, I hate to see you go,’ but it was Joe Silva’s decision, and we can’t step on his toes, pretty much.’ I was like, ‘No problem. It’s cool, bro.’ He was like, ‘Just go win two fights and you can come right back.”

It was two months before Guillard had decided to ink a contract with WSOF, the promotion for which he would fight two times before a nasty falling out earlier this year. At that point, he said he wasn’t sure whether he wanted to continue competing as a professional. He’d been fighting professionally since he was 16 and, after more valleys than peaks, the world’s biggest show wouldn’t employ him. A real job sounded like a good alternative.

So he took a job as a bouncer at the Vegas Cabaret strip club in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. For this reason, he said, he neglected his teammates and coaches at American Top Team (at least one ATT regular, who asked for anonymity, said Guillard rarely showed up to the gym). Then he had a falling out with the club’s management. After 22 years of being his own boss, he said, taking orders from those “beneath him” was too much to bear.

“Man, was that the dumbest f-cking thing I could have ever thought to do,” Guillard said. “The club is sh-tty, the people in there are sh-tty, and it’s not a customer-friendly place.”

After his rocky year and feud with the WSOF, the veteran lightweight is now signed to a contract with Bellator. He said he’s got his priorities straight, even though he has yet to win two fights. At 32, with 50 pro fights under his belt, he wants to fight as much as possible so he can put the most money in his bank account.

Guillard said his best chance of meeting his goal was to sign with the Viacom-owned Bellator, which would give him the ability to model the career he most admires in combat sports – Floyd “Money” Mayweather.

“Every fighter in the world should be able to live like Floyd Mayweather,” Guillard said. “I don’t care what nobody says about him – he’s a businessman. And I try to base my career and my life going forward off of Floyd. I use him as the blueprint.”

Like Mayweather directs his career by choosing opponents, Guillard claims his Bellator contract allows him to do the same. More than that, it allows him to fight as much as he wants.

Guillard (32-14-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) was given a choice between UFC veteran John Alessio and Brandon Girtz for a headlining debut at Bellator 141, which takes place Friday at Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, Calif. He chose Girtz (12-4 MMA, 4-2 BMMA), who is 4-2 in the promotion, and hopes to fight on as many Bellator cards as possible.

Bellator 141’s main card airs on Spike TV following prelims on MMAjunkie.

“I didn’t even know who Brandon was to be honest,” he said. “After watching film on all the guys, that’s how we came up with Girtz. He trains with my old coaches.”

Meanwhile, Guillard said he’s making up for lost time in the gym. After a series of fallouts with others, he wants to be known as the fighter who’s easy to work with and shows up, the fighter he said he was when he was training at the famed Jackson-Winkeljohn’s MMA in Albuquerque, N.M.

It’s anyone’s guess whether “The Young Assassin” will ever return to the UFC, but for now, Guillard said his relationship with his new promoter is working out well.

“I got to talk to (Bellator President) Scott Coker, and he seems like a nice guy and will be fun to work with,” he said. “He works for the fighters; he’s not a selfish guy. So it’s kind of hard not to go with Bellator right now.”

For more on Bellator 141, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.

MMAjunkie Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show, available on SiriusXM Ch. 93, is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.