Dec-5-2008

Goulet: Rejuvenated and Hungry for Fights

By Dave Sholler

Nearly a year ago, welterweight Jonathan Goulet had considered ending his mixed martial arts career at the age of 28. After 27 professional bouts, the Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada native was having trouble summoning the desire to fight.

Following a loss to Josh Koscheck at Ultimate Fight Night 6 in August 2006, Goulet fought five times outside of the organization and compiled a record of 3-1 with one no contest. But something was missing. The energy he had to train was gone. The urge to go to war with a fellow combatant disappeared. To make matters worse, he wasn’t exactly padding his bank account competing on smaller cards.

So Goulet (22-9, 1 NC) decided it was time to hang up his gloves. No more jiu jitsu training. Goodbye Muay Thai class. The former construction worker decided he would move to western Canada in search of an occupation that didn’t involve striking, grappling, or conditioning.

“I was going to quit MMA,” Goulet said sternly. “I was fighting for nothing. I wasn’t happy with my life. I wanted to quit and change my life. I was going to travel to western Canada to find work and start over. Then my manager got in touch with me and said the UFC asked me if I wanted to fight (Dustin) Hazelett on short notice. I decided to give the sport another shot. It was the light at the end of the tunnel. It was new hope for me.

Having already set his mind on leaving MMA, Goulet found preparations for the Hazelett fight on September 19, 2007 to be difficult though. For starters, he was training alone. No coaches, no sparring partners, no cheering section. It was a humbling experience to say the least.

“I was training alone and working on my ground game with a dummy,” Goulet said. I had no Muay Thai coaches, nothing. I was really alone. So I ended up losing the fight (to Hazelett). But my appetite for fights was back. I wanted to win and go far in the UFC. Because of my loss to Hazelett, I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to fight again for the UFC. But (agent) Ken Pavia helped me get back in and it pushed me to train and fight.”

While the loss to Hazelett seemed like a setback at first, Goulet realized it was a sign for him to keep pressing forward. The 29-year-old joined the Tri-Star Gym in Montreal, where old friends Georges St-Pierre and David Loiseau had taken up shop. The result was the type of hard training that ignited an old flame.

Goulet won his next two bouts inside the Octagon, submitting Paul Georgieff at the Ultimate Fighter Season Six Finale in December 2007 and knocking out Kuniyoshi Hironaka at UFC 83 in April. Once written off by many, Goulet discovered a new sense of confidence inside the cage.

“Training in Montreal helped me work on my weaknesses,” Goulet said. “It helped me a lot to improve on my feet and in all the aspects of my game. I’m doing a lot of things better than I did before. I’m training with some really good coaches.

“When I was looking at my fights in the UFC, I was thinking that my standup wasn’t that good and my fights weren’t that beautiful,” Goulet continued. “Training here, I’m feeling really, really good now.”

Goulet will have a chance to show that the new training regimen has paid off when he takes on Mike Swick at the UFC Fight for the Troops event in Fayetteville, NC on Dec. 10. Swick, a former middleweight contender, will be fighting his third fight at welterweight and is undoubtedly looking to impress. After defeating Josh Burkman in sluggish fashion in his 170-pound debut in January, Swick outlasted heavy-handed striker Marcus Davis en route to a unanimous decision victory at UFC 85 in June.

Although Swick is undefeated since dropping to welterweight, Goulet thinks he still has much to prove.
“I think the UFC has brought me in to bring back the old Mike Swick,” Goulet said. “We don’t know if Swick will be strong that night, but his two fights at 170 didn’t look that good. He wasn’t like he was at 185. But maybe he will be able to make the weight properly this time. I expect him to strong and quick at 170. He won’t be stronger or quicker than me though.

“Everyone thinks for some reason that I will get knocked out quick. But you know, we have a good game plan. Swick will be the real deal for me and it’s very important for me to beat him. I want to be respected by the UFC fans.”

For Goulet, developing a plan to defeat Swick began with training with partners that mimic Swick’s aggressive style. Goulet enlisted the help of welterweight champion St-Pierre, and the dividends were instantly noticeable.

“GSP has helped me a lot for Swick because he has a good standup game,” Goulet said, adding that St. Pierre’s speed also helped him hone his reflexes. “I’m training with him five days a week and it’s been good. In my opinion, Swick is not in the top 10 in the welterweight division. But maybe if I beat him, I’ll be in the top ten. That has always been my dream.”

With a fellow Canadian helping him on the feet, Goulet said he has also paid close attention to refining his ground game. After watching Swick’s performance against Davis at UFC 85, Goulet feels he has a distinct advantage on the ground. He believes his relentless approach on the mat will be tough for Swick to match.

“I think I will have the advantage on the ground,” Goulet said. “I have better ground and pound than him. He throws little punches on the ground like he did against Marcus Davis. If I’m on the ground with him, he better be careful of my elbows and my punches because I will hurt him.”

Rejuvenated and reenergized, Goulet is hopeful that he can extend his UFC winning streak to three on Dec. 10. Even though he admits that it would be nice to enjoy the same success as his stablemate St-Pierre, Goulet would be content with racking up quality wins and a feeling of personal success. In fact, he thinks it would mean more than any championship title.

“I’ve always been number two in Canada behind GSP,” Goulet said, adding that it is a ranking he is absolutely proud of. “If I can be number two in the world, I’d be very happy. I don’t really hope and dream to have the title. We would get more money and more sponsorship, but I just really want to fight and be a fighter. Everyone in our gym dreams to be like GSP, but I just like to fight. It’s what I do and it’s what I see myself doing forever.”

UFC Fight for The Troops airs on Spike TV on Wednesday, December 10th at 9pm ET / PT.

To donate to the Fallen Heroes Fund, click here.