Wilson Gouveia (11–5) and Jason MacDonald (21–10) will throwdown in a middleweight bout slated for The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 8 Finale at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, on December 13, according to GracieFighter.com.
It will be just the second fight for Gouveia at 185 pounds. The American Top Team-trained product scored a submission win (armbar) over late replacement Ryan Jensen at UFC Fight Night 15 in his divisional debut back in September. He was originally booked to fight veteran Jeremy Horn before "Gumby" got hurt while training and was forced to withdraw.
Gouveia feels good in the lighter division:
"I like the new category. I felt much bigger than the other guys. I made this move because I never was a very big light heavyweight, so we decided as a team I should drop to middleweight. Yes, I’m doing quite well. Making weight the first time was pretty rough, but now everything is fine, I’ve adapted."
The latest win for the former light heavyweight was his fifth in seven attempts inside the Octagon. He suffered just the second UFC loss of his career to Goran Reljic earlier this year.
MacDonald, too, is in a similar situation. He rebounded from a loss with a finish of Jason Lambert via submission (rear naked choke) at UFC 88: "Breakthrough" in his mst recent appearance also back in September.
"The Athlete" has demonstrated tremendous skill during his time with the promotion; however, he has been terribly inconsistent. With the exception of his first two UFC fights, which he won, MacDonald has alternated wins and losses in his last six fights.
Therefore, if current trends continue, Gouveia will come away with the win at the conclusion of the bout. But that’s of course completely inexact. This is a fight that he is very capable of winning; however, he will not have an edge in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu department in this one.
And we all know how that worked out for him the last time. See Maia, Demian.
TUF 8 Finale will also feature the finals of the lightweight and light heavyweight tournament-style format that is currently in progress on the mixed martial arts reality series. It will air live on Spike TV at 9 p.m. ET on fight night.
To check out the latest TUF 8 fight card and rumors click here.
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