Chael Sonnen vs Wilson Gouveia on tap for UFC 102 on Aug. 29

by MMAmania.com on Apr 10, 2009 10:57 AM EDT

Former World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) number one middleweight contender Chael Sonnen (21-10-1) will once again attempt to get things going inside the Octagon when he battles American Top Team (ATT) standout, Wilson Gouveia (12-6), in a 185-pound affair set for UFC 102 at the Rose Garden Arena in Portland, Ore., on August 29, according to MMAWeekly.com.

It will be a homecoming of sorts for Sonnen, who was born and bred in "The Beaver State" and has trained at the local area training camp, Team Quest, for years. He will attempt to rebound from a quick first round submission loss (triangle choke) to Brazilian jiu-jitsu powerhouse, Demian Maia, at UFC 95 earlier this year.

The bout marked his third UFC appearance – he lost to Jeremy Horn via submission (armbar) at UFC 60: "Hughes vs. Gracie" back in 2006 and outpointed Trevor Prangley on all three judges scorecards at Ultimate Fight Night 4 that same year.

Prior to the loss to Maia, Sonnen handed a dazed and confused Paulo Filho -- who was widely regarded as the second-best middleweight fighter in the world before encountering major personal issues -- his first career loss at WEC 37 on November 5.

Sonnen is a very strong wrestler who has been able to refine his all-around game throughout his career. However, more than half of his career losses have come via submission, which makes it very important for him to be as careful as possible against a talented ground fighter such as Gouveia.

Gouveia is also coming off a disappointing loss – Nate Marquardt went bananas on him in the third round of their fight at UFC 95, unleashing a sensational barrage of strikes from all different angles for which he had no answer.

It was a bout that could have propelled him to the front of the division title contender pack, which has all of a sudden become a rather crowded place. However, it just wasn’t meant to be … for now.

Gouveia recently notched a submission win (armbar) over late replacement Ryan Jensen at UFC Fight Night 15 in his divisional debut back in September. He also smashed Jason MacDonald with vicious elbows at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 8 Finale to score an impressive first round technical knockout in Dec. 2008.

This will mark the fourth fight for Gouveia at middleweight. And with losses to top division players such as Marquardt and Goran Reljic, he will need to prove that he can hang with the big dogs when he collides with Sonnen in late August.

UFC 102 is expected to feature one of the sport’s biggest stars — and local-area product — former heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Randy Couture, locking horns with former Pride FC and UFC interim heavyweight champion, Antonio Rodrigo ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira.

To check out the latest UFC 102 fight card and rumors click here.

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Comments

very interesting fight, ill take goveia by tko b/c i like his stand up and punching power more than sonnen.

by bobby o'shea on Apr 10, 2009 11:00 AM EDT reply actions

for sure sonnen looked so stupid when he was striking against filho. wilsons gunna brutalize him

by Jared on Apr 10, 2009 11:03 AM EDT up reply actions

negative! this is sonnen’s fight for sure! didnt u guys see what jensen was doing to gouveia till he got caught in that armbar? i expect the same thing from sonnen /similair styles/ and heres to hoping he doesnt get caught

by brendan on Apr 10, 2009 1:48 PM EDT up reply actions

Chael won’t stand with Willy G. He’s gonna be diving for takedowns until he eventually falls in a triangle.

by NameNotRequired on Apr 10, 2009 11:03 AM EDT up reply actions

I’m gonna have to agree with on that one.

by DSmith on Apr 10, 2009 11:31 AM EDT up reply actions

I was really upset to see Wilson lose to Marquardt, but I defiantly think he can bounce back. He just needs to work a bit more cardio, seems like that is his main problem. He is still one of my favorite fighters and always brings it. Gouveia by TKO!

by BNF on Apr 10, 2009 11:02 AM EDT reply actions

This is Gouveia’s fight for sure BNF! I just hope that Gouveia doesnt turn into the fighter that has all the talent, but cant win the big fight.

by JV on Apr 10, 2009 1:28 PM EDT up reply actions

He has never lost 2 in a row in the UFC so this is a huge fight for him to stay towards the top of 185.

by BNF on Apr 10, 2009 2:47 PM EDT up reply actions

NO WORRIES, Willy G is going to slaughter him! Chael is so damn over rated and Team quest fighters dont really win, now a days…. Willy G is on a completely different level!

Chael could F off and go fight Okami on an undercard for all I care!

by john on Apr 10, 2009 5:40 PM EDT up reply actions

who is main eventing this one?

by Josh on Apr 10, 2009 11:16 AM EDT reply actions

Main event is Randy-Nog.

Should be a pretty good fight IMO. Classic match up, wrestler vs striker (with the FAR superior BJJ). Think Wilson will prob take it but if Chael can test his cardio who knows.

by WB on Apr 10, 2009 12:14 PM EDT up reply actions

BJ vs. KenFlo for the Lightweight Championship

by Ian on Apr 10, 2009 12:28 PM EDT up reply actions

Wrong. BJ – KenFlo is 101 in Philly.
102 is Randy – Nog.

by WB on Apr 10, 2009 6:06 PM EDT up reply actions

This fight is tailor made to get Wilson a rebound win. Thier standup is not even close in my eyes, and Willy has good enough BJJ to submit Chael who always seems to have a mental lapse when he fights. Willy by KO or triangle.

ALSO, WHERE IS THE STRIKEFORCE NEWS???? That is what want to be talking about!

Nick Diaz vs Frank Shamrock. WHAT! Are you kidding me? This is such a huge fight and its getting Rich Clementi’d.

The odds for the event are now posted on BoDog and BetUs. Frank is -200 and -180.

I have never seen Rodrigo Damm fight. Has anyone? All I know is that he has good BJJ. Melendez likes to ground and pound his way to decision wins, and this is 5 rounds. If Rodrigo can hold up, he may be a good underdog bet, but I don’t know enough about him to recommend either way. Right now I am leaning toward a Cyborg/Radach/Shamrock parlay, but everyone knows I’ll be rooting for NICK!!!!

Below are the odds from BoDog

Chris "Cyborg" Santos
-600

Hitomi Akano
+400

April 11th, 2009 – Strikeforce MMA -HP Pavilion at San Jose
Heavyweights Both must fight for action.
Brett Rogers
-525

Abongo Humphrey
+325

April 11th, 2009 – Strikeforce MMA -HP Pavilion at San Jose
Lightweights Both must fight for action.
Gilbert Melendez
-340

Rodrigo Damm
+260

April 11th, 2009 – Strikeforce MMA -HP Pavilion at San Jose
Middleweights Both must fight for action.
Benji Radach
-165

Scott Smith
+135

April 11th, 2009 – Strikeforce MMA -HP Pavilion at San Jose
Catch Weight Both must fight for action.
Frank Shamrock
-200

Nick Diaz
+160

by ViolentMike on Apr 10, 2009 11:20 AM EDT reply actions

Dude, I am going to Strikeforce and I don’t even really care. That card started off like a juggernaut, but just kind of peetered out. They could have done so much better with it than they did. Obviously they didn’t want to blow their wad the first time out. I guess it means they are really in it for the long haul.

by BNF on Apr 10, 2009 11:27 AM EDT up reply actions

Watch me make bank on Damm. Gonna parlay on Damm and Benji. I am a big supporter of Alliance BJJ. He’s an elite badass black belt under fabio gurgel (Maia’s teacher). Hell he subbed Kulter Gill in one day’s notice. Took out masvidal but that was a mad early stoppage quite ridiculous actually. I had him to win Sengoku tourney last year but he got subbed after getting cracked hard by Mitsuoka. Gil isn’t a heavy hitter and i figure he’ll play the wrestling game where Damm is very good at sweeping to get on top or even fighting off his back.

by NameNotRequired on Apr 10, 2009 11:37 AM EDT up reply actions

Ah Willy G. Another close but no cigar ATT fighter. I love what Nate did to him, that was violence at its best. This should be interesting. His BJJ is nowhere near DM’s. I think that if Chael can avoid the subs and keep him down for a round and a half, he has a really good chance here. Just don’t get caught going in for a takedown and your fine. Train cardio Willy, and you will be a force, not a farce.

by Ti Odio on Apr 10, 2009 11:32 AM EDT reply actions

I don’t like Gouveia but Sonnen is terrible, Gouveia by KO.

by Lester the Pimp on Apr 10, 2009 12:40 PM EDT reply actions

I like them both. What is so terrible about Sonnen? The fact that he got sub’d by the best jiu jistu guy in the world? your an idiot there is nothing terrible about him hes one of the best fighters in the world.

by belfort_fan on Apr 10, 2009 12:52 PM EDT up reply actions

“The bout marked his third UFC appearance – he lost to Jeremy Horn via submission (armbar) at UFC 60: "Hughes vs. Gracie" back in 2006 and outpointed Trevor Prangley on all three judges scorecards at Ultimate Fight Night 4 that same year.”

It was Sonnens fourth fight in the UFC, his first fight was a loss to Babalu.

by Matthew on Apr 10, 2009 1:05 PM EDT reply actions