[pa99fighter]

Winner of Four in a Row, Wilson Gouveia Makes His Move
By Armando Alvarez

Light heavyweight is known as the glamour division in the UFC, with the most recognizable fighters in the sport, such as Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Chuck Liddell, and Forrest Griffin campaigning in the 205 pound weight class. Just as these three and a few others are household names in the mixed martial arts world, Wilson Gouveia of Brazil is not, but if he keeps dominating fights the way he has been, he will soon join them.

Gouveia brings a four fight winning streak into his May 24th fight against unbeaten Croatian fighter Goran Reljic as part of UFC 84: Ill Will, with his last win a spectacular knockout over Jason Lambert. Although that impressive victory inched him closer to a title shot, Gouveia admits he’s in better shape for his fight against Reljic than he was for the matchup versus Lambert.

“I feel better than when I fought Jason,” Gouveia said. “In January everyone was away from the gym. They were out traveling for Christmas and New Year’s. Now everyone’s back and my training has been more intense. I know this guy (Reljic) is a tough guy and if I beat him big things are coming up for me.”

Gouveia (10-4) knows he can’t take Reljic (7-0) lightly. The 24 year-old will be making his UFC and United States debut when he fights Gouveia, but the native of Fortaleza, Brazil isn’t looking past Reljic to the “big things” that are right around the corner for him. He knows a loss to Reljic sets him back, and that’s something Gouveia knows he can’t afford to let happen.

“I fight to support my wife Fernanda and my son Wilson, Jr., so when you realize if you win a fight you’re gonna make double next time, you go in there as if you’re gonna kill a lion,” Gouveia said. “The UFC is the biggest show in MMA. It is the pinnacle. Reljic is coming there and he’s gonna see the lights, the cameras and the crowd. It’s every fighter’s dream, so he‘s coming to impress just like I‘m coming to impress.”

Gouveia knows the struggles fighters go through to rise up the ladder in the UFC. He arrived here in 1999 and started working as a construction worker while he trained and looked to commence his mixed martial arts career. He owes his work ethic of shedding blood, sweat and tears to his mother Maria Iraci, who had to play the role of mom and dad to Gouveia, his brother and his sister after his father passed away when he was just 12 years old. In fact, in the unlikeliest of situations, it was his mother the one that pushed him to do martial arts, although never did she imagine he’d make it this far.

“She put me in the martial arts to stay away from drugs and alcohol, and to learn to defend myself,” Gouveia said. “I had no father, so I had to protect myself in case something happened.”

Now that her boy is fighting on the top MMA stage in the world she can’t help but to look away from the TV when he fights, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t follow what’s going on.

“She’s one of the biggest fans I have,” Gouveia said with a smile. “She doesn’t like to watch, but she follows it on the computer. If I win the fight then she watches the replay.”

Iraci didn’t always agree wholeheartedly with her son’s profession. At the beginning of his career there wasn’t that much money in MMA, and she believed he was risking too much for so little money.

“My first fight I made $300. She would tell me, ‘What are you doing? You’re risking yourself for $300,’” Gouveia recalls. “I knew I’d make it big and one day I’d be able to feed my family by fighting, and thank God today in the UFC I make enough money to feed my wife and kid. I have a real nice life.”

Gouveia now trains in Coconut Creek, FL at the American Top Team Gym. He’s been with them since before they were known as ATT. After Gouveia was part of the team, they brought some other top fighters from Brazil to be part of their squad, including one of Gouveia’s mentors and teachers, Marcus Aurelio.

Aurelio, who fights in the UFC’s lightweight division, had a jiu-jitsu academy in Fortaleza and it was there where a young Gouveia started to polish his skills as a complete fighter. He gets giddy when he talks about how much it means to him to train with Aurelio and fellow Fortalezan, Thiago Alves, now that he’s a professional fighter.

“It’s like training everyday with family,” Gouveia said. “We play around like little kids. We’re grown men,
but we mess around so much. This is my second home. Everybody has their bad days and good days, but my friends are always there for me. I spend so much time here that the coaches are like my fathers and the boys are like my brothers.”

Gouveia is feeding off that energy as he moves up the ranks in the 205 pound division. A few other fighters at light heavyweight are also on the fight card May 24th such as Tito Ortiz, Lyoto Machida, Thiago Silva, Wanderlei Silva and Silva’s opponent that night, Keith Jardine. Although Gouveia’s ultimate goal is to take on Jackson for the championship, he’d like nothing more than another shot at Jardine. “The Dean of Mean” owns a decision win over Gouveia in June of 2006. It was Gouveia’s first fight in the Octagon and a loss he’d like to avenge.

“I’d like to fight Keith again. That would be huge,” Gouveia said. “He’s been very good since he beat me. When I fought him I was a step up in competition for him and everyone knows I dominated the first round and a half. I don’t think I lost that fight. I took him down and his face was a bloody mess, but it’s over, I lost. If I get to fight him again all the fans should watch because the first fight was a great fight and I guarantee you the second fight will be even better and I‘ll win.”

In order for a rematch to occur, Gouveia must beat Reljic and Jardine must get past former PRIDE champion Silva, something Gouveia believes will happen.

“Keith is an incredibly tough guy,” Gouveia said. “He beat Chuck Liddell. The size is gonna be a big difference. Wanderlei is a small light heavyweight, and Keith is a really big dude. I think Keith can handle him, and if he plays the right game he will win.”

With a win on May 24th Gouveia knows a lot of opportunities will be present for him. The main event that night is BJ Penn vs. Sean Sherk, a very intriguing fight that a lot of fans will tune into. With that said, Gouveia will be fighting on the main card on a huge worldwide stage. If impressive, the fans will be looking forward to seeing him take on Jardine again, or Liddell, or Jackson. Whoever the next opponent will be there’s no denying Gouveia is knocking on the door and UFC greatness is on the other side with its hand on the knob.
Source:UFC® : Ultimate Fighting Championship®

Good Read. War Gouveia