After his morning workout, Wilson Gouveia unwound by talking to yours truly during his drive home from the ATT gym. Wilson is taking on James "The Sandman" Irvin at UFC 102 , and while he's not looking past Irvin, he kinda has his sights set on someone else. (Here's a hint: Michael Bisping)
Wilson Gouveia Focused on James Irvin and Beyond
by Matt Kaplan
Wilson Gouveia is back in line. And he’s fine with it.
After being TKO’d in spectacular fashion by Nate Marquardt at UFC 95, the 30-year-old Brazilian middleweight took a month off, licked his wounds, hit the gym, and is set to return to the Octagon on August 28 to take on James “The Sandman” Irvin at UFC 102 in Portland, OR.
A win over Marquardt could have potentially put Gouveia (12-6) at the forefront of the 185-pound championship landscape. Instead, the loss made him the unenvied star of Marquardt’s greatest highlight clip. Gouveia’s certainly not bitter about the loss, but he hasn’t forgotten it.
“I was right there. That’s what happens when you lose: you go back in line. That’s what I have to do now: get a couple of more wins, show my potential.
“Everybody knows that Nate is a tough guy. He’s one of the toughest middleweight fighters in the world. I fought hard, gave it everything I had, but I think I was lost a little bit in my emotions. I was trying too hard to knock him out, and at the end, I was putting my head down too much. But I have to learn from my mistakes and try to be a better fighter.”
Gouveia’s talent has been a topic of discussion since he first entered the UFC. He has been acknowledged by many as the most talented fighter in the star-studded American Top Team stable, to which he credits much of his success. With veritable “Who’s Who in MMA” list training with him under the American Top Team banner, Gouveia is primed to take out the hard-hitting Irvin (14-5).
“I respect him a lot. He’s a very powerful, explosive guy, but everybody has weakness, and I’m trying to train on top of that.”
Irvin is well regarded for his devastating KOs, but Gouveia does not anticipate being overpowered by the former WEC heavyweight champion and UFC light heavyweight, who will be making his middleweight debut at UFC 102.
“I think he’s gotta be very careful because my first fight when I dropped (down to 185), I thought I was supposed to be more powerful than the other guy, but I was actually weaker. It’s a process. He’s a pretty lean guy for 205; I think he’s going to lose a lot of muscle. I don’t think he’s going to have the same strength at 185. I hope! I hope he’s not as strong, but I’ll be ready.”
“If it’s a knockout or a submission, I’d prefer to finish that way because, you know, I can make some extra cash as a bonus of the night,” he laughed. “I always look to that as an extra motivation to knock somebody out or for the submission.”
Gouveia realizes that a coveted title shot will not come with a win at UFC 102, and so he is ready to work his way back up the 185-lb. ladder. But like Gouveia, ATT teammates Denis Kang, Luigi Fioravanti, Ben Saunders, Carmello Marerro, and Alessio Sakara are also looking to become the UFC top dog at 185, something that Gouveia accepts as the nature of the beast.
“Honestly, I don’t want to fight a teammate. That’s common sense, but that’s what I do for a living. My training partners, my friends, that’s what we do. If we have to fight, then we have to fight. It’s no choice. We work for a company, and if this company tells us to do this, we gotta do it. That’s how we make our money and pay our bills.”
“If it’s a title fight, it’s OK, but just to get up the ladder, I don’t think so,” he maintains.
Until that title fight comes, Gouveia is hoping that a win over Irvin at UFC 102 will kick off a run at the belt, one that he hopes will make a stop overseas.
“Now, I don’t want to look past James (Irvin) because I know he’s a really tough fighter, but hopefully if I can beat him, I want a tough fight. I hope I can beat James and fight (Michael) Bisping in his hometown.
“I got nothing against him, but I agree with Dan Henderson. (Bisping) likes to talk too much, and is, I guess, too overrated. People say he’s the best, he’s the best. Either way, I think he’s a good fighter, but not even close to being the best.
“He was talking too much crap about Dan Henderson. Dan Henderson, he did a lot for this sport. He fought all the tough guys in the world, and when you’re fighting someone like that, of that caliber, you’ve got to show some respect. And Bisping showed no respect.”
No matter what’s in store for Gouveia after UFC 102, he remains dedicated to and motivated by the people who push him to be his best every day.
“My family, I mean, they’re everything to me. I try to be the best just to give them a comfortable life.
“I have three boys. And my oldest one – 6 years old – I guess I’m his hero, and that motivates me a lot. Sometimes he’s playing the video game with his little friends, and he says, ‘My dad is a UFC fighter. My dad is in the video game.’ And that makes me train even harder to be the best. In the future, when I get old, I’m going to look back and say, ‘You know, I did something in my life.’
“I love the fans; they’re great. It’s because of them that we are in this place right now, but I really don’t care much about fame and status or anything. I just do this because that’s what I do best. It’s a way to make a comfortable life for me and my family. It’s a tough business; it’s a real tough business. I put my family first, so I do all this for them.”
(photo from Newsday)
Wilson Gouveia Focused on James Irvin and Beyond
by Matt Kaplan
Wilson Gouveia is back in line. And he’s fine with it.
After being TKO’d in spectacular fashion by Nate Marquardt at UFC 95, the 30-year-old Brazilian middleweight took a month off, licked his wounds, hit the gym, and is set to return to the Octagon on August 28 to take on James “The Sandman” Irvin at UFC 102 in Portland, OR.
A win over Marquardt could have potentially put Gouveia (12-6) at the forefront of the 185-pound championship landscape. Instead, the loss made him the unenvied star of Marquardt’s greatest highlight clip. Gouveia’s certainly not bitter about the loss, but he hasn’t forgotten it.
“I was right there. That’s what happens when you lose: you go back in line. That’s what I have to do now: get a couple of more wins, show my potential.
“Everybody knows that Nate is a tough guy. He’s one of the toughest middleweight fighters in the world. I fought hard, gave it everything I had, but I think I was lost a little bit in my emotions. I was trying too hard to knock him out, and at the end, I was putting my head down too much. But I have to learn from my mistakes and try to be a better fighter.”
Gouveia’s talent has been a topic of discussion since he first entered the UFC. He has been acknowledged by many as the most talented fighter in the star-studded American Top Team stable, to which he credits much of his success. With veritable “Who’s Who in MMA” list training with him under the American Top Team banner, Gouveia is primed to take out the hard-hitting Irvin (14-5).
“I respect him a lot. He’s a very powerful, explosive guy, but everybody has weakness, and I’m trying to train on top of that.”
Irvin is well regarded for his devastating KOs, but Gouveia does not anticipate being overpowered by the former WEC heavyweight champion and UFC light heavyweight, who will be making his middleweight debut at UFC 102.
“I think he’s gotta be very careful because my first fight when I dropped (down to 185), I thought I was supposed to be more powerful than the other guy, but I was actually weaker. It’s a process. He’s a pretty lean guy for 205; I think he’s going to lose a lot of muscle. I don’t think he’s going to have the same strength at 185. I hope! I hope he’s not as strong, but I’ll be ready.”
“If it’s a knockout or a submission, I’d prefer to finish that way because, you know, I can make some extra cash as a bonus of the night,” he laughed. “I always look to that as an extra motivation to knock somebody out or for the submission.”
Gouveia realizes that a coveted title shot will not come with a win at UFC 102, and so he is ready to work his way back up the 185-lb. ladder. But like Gouveia, ATT teammates Denis Kang, Luigi Fioravanti, Ben Saunders, Carmello Marerro, and Alessio Sakara are also looking to become the UFC top dog at 185, something that Gouveia accepts as the nature of the beast.
“Honestly, I don’t want to fight a teammate. That’s common sense, but that’s what I do for a living. My training partners, my friends, that’s what we do. If we have to fight, then we have to fight. It’s no choice. We work for a company, and if this company tells us to do this, we gotta do it. That’s how we make our money and pay our bills.”
“If it’s a title fight, it’s OK, but just to get up the ladder, I don’t think so,” he maintains.
Until that title fight comes, Gouveia is hoping that a win over Irvin at UFC 102 will kick off a run at the belt, one that he hopes will make a stop overseas.
“Now, I don’t want to look past James (Irvin) because I know he’s a really tough fighter, but hopefully if I can beat him, I want a tough fight. I hope I can beat James and fight (Michael) Bisping in his hometown.
“I got nothing against him, but I agree with Dan Henderson. (Bisping) likes to talk too much, and is, I guess, too overrated. People say he’s the best, he’s the best. Either way, I think he’s a good fighter, but not even close to being the best.
“He was talking too much crap about Dan Henderson. Dan Henderson, he did a lot for this sport. He fought all the tough guys in the world, and when you’re fighting someone like that, of that caliber, you’ve got to show some respect. And Bisping showed no respect.”
No matter what’s in store for Gouveia after UFC 102, he remains dedicated to and motivated by the people who push him to be his best every day.
“My family, I mean, they’re everything to me. I try to be the best just to give them a comfortable life.
“I have three boys. And my oldest one – 6 years old – I guess I’m his hero, and that motivates me a lot. Sometimes he’s playing the video game with his little friends, and he says, ‘My dad is a UFC fighter. My dad is in the video game.’ And that makes me train even harder to be the best. In the future, when I get old, I’m going to look back and say, ‘You know, I did something in my life.’
“I love the fans; they’re great. It’s because of them that we are in this place right now, but I really don’t care much about fame and status or anything. I just do this because that’s what I do best. It’s a way to make a comfortable life for me and my family. It’s a tough business; it’s a real tough business. I put my family first, so I do all this for them.”
(photo from Newsday)
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