(Photo:Goulet’s Myspace)

 As part of a series of Canadian fighter profiles by Sportsnet.ca heading into UFC 83 in Montreal on April 19th, Jonathan Goulet has opened up a bit regarding his career so far and the change he is implementing to work towards improving his win record. 

 Goulet, who goes by the nickname “Road Warrior” is somewhat known in the UFC, although widely known by Canadian fight fans with his heavy exposure in the TKO organization that has been a proving ground for high level fighters such as GSP, Patrick Cote and David Loiseau.  In the TKO organization, Goulet way very successful, notching wins over John Allessio, Shonie Carter, Tony Fryklund and Jeff Joslin to name a few.  The UFC on the other hand has been a land of mixed results, with a 3-3-0 record including losses to both Josh Koscheck and Dustin Hazelett, as well as a near record 11 second KO at the hands of Duane “Bang” Ludwig in early 2006.

A quote from UFC president, Dana White in the Sportsnet article sums up Goulet’s UFC career nicely;

“When he first came to the UFC, he looked awesome,” UFC president Dana White told The Canadian Press. “This looked like a kid who was going to be the junior (Georges) St. Pierre. And he’s come up short. And this is a tough fight for him. Hironaka is a very tough fight. He’s a durable well-rounded guy who has fought some tough guys. So Goulet’s going to really have to bring his `A” game.

“Hopefully for Goulet the home-town advantage and the excitement of being in Canada will catapult him to victory in this one.”

It sounds like Goulet has received the message loud and clear

“This year I’ve really concentrated on training. In 2007, I got crazy with fighting but I didn’t improve myself because I didn’t take any break and any time to improve myself. I was always under pressure for a fight. “

Well,  Goulet has a new 4 fight contract with the UFC and he will be hoping to showcase his experience and skills against a very game Kuniyoshi Hironaka at UFC 83.    He continues to train with GSP and that experience, training with the elite in your own weightclass, has to be paying dividends at this stage of the game.

Time will tell if Goulet is able to stay the course and show his full potential in the UFC this year.  Step one is UFC 83 and based on Dana White’s comments regarding the fight, it seems he will be able to earn a fair bit of respect if he can pull out a convincing win in Montreal.

To the Road Warrior… Bonne Chance! 

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In a recent post by Sam Caplan at Fiveouncesofpain.com, it appears that the UFC has announced it’s decision to suspend Renato “Babalu” Sobral’s current contract.? The news is fallout from Babalu’s most recent fight on Aug. 25th (UFC 74) where he admitted to intentionally holding a choke on his opponent David Heath after he knew the fighter had tapped.

Criticism regarding Sobral’s actions was widespread in the media and among fighters, so it is no surprise that the UFC would take some action in addition to the cash penalty imposed by the NSAC while the fight was under review.? This is not the first time that a fighter has held a choke longer than what seemed appropriate, or that a fighter was struck several times after clearly losing consciousness… but it is the first time that a fighter has made the mistake of admitting intention in the aftermath.

?The post continues to state that the UFC was not washing their hands of Sobral forever, which is probably a good move, as he is, in my opinion, a talented fighter who simply made a (really) bad decision.? Hopefully this public ostracising will lead to a period of intense introspection and new found focus for Babalu…. or at the very least, let’s hope he learns how to tell a lie.