UFC fighter Jared Gooden channels Sugar Ray Leonard

MANILA, Philippines – “You know this story about how Sugar Ray Leonard would look into a mirror before a fight,” asked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight fighter Jared Gooden.

“If I Leonard saw Sugar Ray in the mirror, he knew he would win. If he saw Ray Leonard, he knew he would have to work hard for the win.”

Gooden has ditched this angry and pissed off stance in favor of his true persona. One who trains super hard, works doubly hard, but has this smile on his face that its mega-wattage is enough to power his home of Atlanta, Georgia. 

“That was the old me pre-UFC,” Gooden explained. “Am just going back to basics.”

And for the first time since entering the UFC in November of 2020, Gooden feels good about himself going into a huge fight.

Gooden is in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 194 (along with the top-billed Mackenzie Dern-Marina Rodriguez women’s strawweight match) where he battles the dangerous Randy Brown (13-4-0) in a welterweight bout where the winner moves up the crowded Top 15 standings. 

Gooden (18-6-0 overall, and 1-2 in UFC) got his UFC career back on track after knocking out German fighter Niklas Stolze in 68 seconds last July 31 at UFC Hall vs. Strickland.

It arrested a two-match slide where Gooden lost to Alan Jouban and Abubakar Nurmagomedov via a pair of unanimous decisions.  

“Instead of coming out to the Octagon all mad and gangster, now I am back to my old self just smiling and having fun, but going out to take care of business,” Gooden told Philstar.com.

“If you see my fights pre-UFC, I wasn’t fighting the way I do,” the Atlanta resident bared. “The third fight, I was so relaxed. I am ecstatic because the win has propelled my confidence.”

“It felt great knocking him out,” underscored Gooden of his Stolze KO.

Incredibly, Gooden was a late replacement in that match receiving only four days’ notice.

The bout against Niklas was fortuitous for many reasons. 

For one, Good says he had an “awakening.” 

“As a Christian, I believe that God was talking to me. I cut things out of my life – social media, some friends who are bad for me, habits that aren’t good for me. On the night I had this revelation and things fell into place.”

Second, he came under the tutelage of former UFC and Bellator champion Kelly Davis, who Gooden absolutely respects.

“I am lucky to be under a new coach in Kelly Davis and learn new things and add them to my repertoire,” he admitted. “I added some weapons that I will bring into this fight.”

“I am trying to impress my coach here.” 

The match versus Brown is huge and it is not lost on Gooden.

“I hope it is a big deal. In my mind it is huge. Coming off the undercard, I am in the co-main event,” he stressed. “I feel great going into this fight. Everything that I have been working on has been clicking. I love the opportunity that the UFC is giving me.”

“I intend to make the most out of it.”

And hopefully smile at a good result.

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