Wilson Gouveia is a BJJ black belt and member of American Top Team who had ten fights in the UFC’s light-heavyweight and middleweight divisions. But after leaving the organization, he chose to give a new direction to his life and turned to a new job: police officer in Hollywood, Florida, USA.
At the peek of his career, Gouveia was 6-4 overall and at one point was fast approaching a light-heavyweight title shot before Goran Reljic ended his 4-0 run at that time.
Gouveia dropped to middleweight shortly afterwards and won two fights before losing to Nate Marquardt by KO.
Gouveia then lost to Alan Belcher and was released by the UFC.
Gouveia with Thiago Alves
Gouveia joined the police force last year. Despite having failed the first test, the BJJ black belt did not give up the dream and told tatame about the process to enter the institution:
“It’s like a competition for the Federal Police in Brazil. They send you to the police academy for six months of study and lots of practice. We have to do 17 written exams during that time, and if you fail in one, they kick you out. After these six months, you spend a month in house training, learning the laws, and another three in the streets with another officer in the car, everyday. It’s tough but being a cop here is a perfect job. “said the fighter, who hasn’t fough MMA since April 2012.
Focused on his career as a policeman, he took a break from MMA and dreams of being part of the FBI, the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States.
