Jonathan Goulet is a retired French Canadian mixed martial artist. A professional from 2001 until 2010, Goulet fought in the UFC. He earned his nickname, "The Road Warrior," after taking a fight on very short notice, traveling to the fight venue without his trainers or cornermen. During his career he was noted for his ever-changing hair colors and using his hair to advertise sponsors.
Background
Goulet is from Quebec, Canada and began training in Kenpo Karate when he was 14 years old but does not hold a high rank in the martial art. Goulet also began Brazilian jiu-jitsu when he was 20. Before becoming a professional fighter, Goulet worked in construction and also as a bouncer. It was during his time working as a bouncer at 20 years of age, when he began to pursue MMA fighting. Goulet had removed one man from the bar he was working at, but afterwards was "jumped" by four of the man's friends, who badly beat the young Goulet. After this incident, Goulet decided to make sure that nothing like that would ever happen again, and began training more in the martial arts with his first coach Steve Claveau and his team Legion.
Goulet made his professional mixed martial arts debut in 2001 and fought almost exclusively in his home country of Canada, with notable wins over Tony Fryklund, Shonie Carter and John Alessio, before being signed by the UFC. Jonathan began as an amateur fighter after 5 months of training and got 10 wins before he started his professional career which did start well. He fought at 205, 185 and 170 where he got 8 wins before reaching the UFC
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Taking a 13-5 MMA record to the UFC, Goulet was successful in his debut, earning a TKO victory over Jay Hieron. His second UFC fight, however, did not go his way. He was knocked out in 6.06 seconds by Duane Ludwig which remained the quickest knockout in the history of the organization until July 6, 2019. Goulet rebounded and came back to win a majority decision over The Ultimate Fighter 2 fan favourite, Luke Cummo, at ''Ultimate Fight Night 5. Goulet was then submitted due to strikes by Josh Koscheck at UFC Fight Night 6 and was submitted by Dustin Hazelett at UFC Fight Night 11. Goulet then put together back to back wins in the UFC, first submitting Paul Georgieff in December 2007, and then winning via TKO over Kuniyoshi Hironaka and UFC 83. Goulet fought at, taking on Mike Swick, where he lost via KO in the first round. Most recently, Goulet took on Marcus Davis at UFC 113 in Montreal, and lost in the second round via TKO. He was released from the organization after his loss to Davis along with Paul Daley and Kimbo Slice.
Post-UFC
Goulet fought Canadian prospect, Matt MacGrath at Ringside MMA 8: Invasion in Quebec, Canada on August 7, 2010. Goulet defeated MacGrath at 1:39 of the first round by TKO. Goulet faced Chris Clements on November 13, 2010 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada for the Ringside MMA Welterweight Championship. Goulet lost the fight via devastating knockout due to punches in the second round. After this fight, Goulet announced his retirement from MMA.
Personal life
Goulet has a daughter who was born in May 1999. After his professional fighting career ended in 2010, he went back to school to finish his high school diploma and worked in the aeronautical sector as a chemical processor. 2 years later, he left work to focus on his mental health after a serious bout with depression that resulted in a failed suicide attempt. He had been dealing with this condition for a number of years during his fighting days. What helped him was to stop the intense training after he retired. Since his return at Tristar Gym, in 2015, he’s been able to get back on track, did some tournaments and his health has stabilized like never before. He became a Wimp 2 Warrior trainer and a « Fitness au Boutte » coach. Goulet suffered a sickness episode in June 2019 that saw him physically battered and coughing a lot. Doctors has no prognosis to offer and he decided to take matters in his own hands and get healthier by organizing the first Fitness au Boutte woods hiking event. Now 40 years old, Goulet went on a road trip across Canada with his 20 year-old daughter, and they camped all along the way. On his doctor’s appointment after their return from the trip, the coughing and sickness were gone. From there he has tried to be a ressource to struggling people around him. Then one day, he lost his best friendDave Gilmore, who had been suffering from depression. That is the defining moment when he decided that he would help people battling with mental health and he would never face the loss of someone again. He's since put together the event where he will be walking 4000km from Montreal to Saint John in 258 days. His goals is to raise awareness about the correlation between mental health wellness and an leading active lifestyle.
