After months away from the octagon due to a shoulder injury, Jonathan “The Road Warrior” Goulet is preparing for his return against Marcus Davis on May 8, at UFC 113 in Montreal. “My last fight wasn’t really a fight. I got knocked out too early”, he says of his 33-second fight against Mike Swick at UFC: Fight For The Troops in December of 2008. In order to beat the “Irish Hand Grenade”, who throws 5.7 punches per second, Goulet has been training with his wrestling team and Firas Zahabi. “I’m not sure about the game plan, but I think it will be to take him down and play with him on the ground. We’ll see. The fight starts on our feet. He’s a pretty good boxer, but it won’t be enough that night to win the fight.”
Goulet spars on occasion with fellow French Canadian fighter Patrick Côté, who is also returning from a lengthy absence at UFC 113,“I talked to Patrick and he told me that as soon as he will spar with us, he will, but we don’t train together, we don’t exchange, except kicks and punches. He’s there to kick my ass and I’m there to kick his ass when it’s time to train together; that’s the only thing we do.”
Fellow welterweights at AKA, Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck and Mike Swick have come under fire for refusing to fight their training partners but Goulet understands their point of view. “We are training partners. We need each and we are a team; it’s kind of disrespectful.” This is also true when it comes to the possibility of ever having to fight Georges St-Pierre, who has the same trainer as Goulet. “If it happens we will have to talk. If I accept that fight, I will be training alone. And training alone is kind of hard.” When asked if one of his goals is to be champion and if to do so he would consider fighting at 155 lbs or 185 lbs to avoid crossing paths with GSP, Goulet remains sedate. “I’m in the UFC now because I had some good fights, but I never dreamed about being the champion. Maybe one day I’ll be a champ, I’m training like a champ right now, but it’s not my goal.”
Goulet has his sights set on making another impressive mark at his second UFC appearance in Montreal. Goulet scored a TKO over victory Kuniyoshi Hironaka at UFC 83 that was awarded Fight of the Night. “My first experience was very cool because I was the very first fight of the night in the first UFC event in Canada. It was a historical moment. I won Fight of the Night. I remember the crowd cheering for me. The crowd is giving me power to finish my fight so I will enjoy that time. It will be the same or even better. I just can’t wait.”
by Julie Veilleux (quotes courtesy of Ringside Report Radio)
