The much-anticipated UFC Austin event is just a few days away. This fight card is stacked from top to bottom with some amazing fights. One such fight between Wellington Thurman and Jared Gooden will be taking place in the preliminary card of the event. The two welterweights are set to collide on December 3, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.
Wellington ‘The Prodigy’ Turman (18-7-0) is coming off back-to-back unanimous decision losses against Randy Brown and Andre Petroski. The 27-year-old Brazillian will be looking to make a return to the win column at UFC Austin. His last victory came against Misha Cirkunov at UFC Fight Night 202: Makhachev vs. Green. Furthermore, this will be his second fight of the year 2023.
Wellington Turman will take on Jared Gooden at #UFCAustin on December 2nd.
[first rep. @mmahoje_]#UFCAustin #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/qpadUqguXP— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) October 8, 2023
Jared ‘Nite Train’ Gooden (18-8-0) is also coming off a unanimous decision loss in his last fight against Carlston Harris. Furthermore, this is his second run in the UFC after he got cut in the year 2022 with a 1-3 record in the company. The 29-year-old fighter desperately needs to win this fight if he wants to make the most of his second chance.
Wellington Turman vs Jared Gooden stats
| Stats | Wellington Turman | Jared Gooden |
| Wins | 18 | 18 |
| Losses | 7 | 8 |
| Height | 6ft 0in | 6ft 0in |
| Division | Welterweight | Welterweight |
| Reach | 72” | 77” |
| Age | 27 | 29 |
Wellington Turman vs Jared Gooden prediction
Wellington Turman is a submission specialist under the tutelage of Glover Teixeira. Out of his 18 victories, 8 have come by way of submission. Furthermore, his latest win at UFC Fight Night 202 came via armbar. With a submission average of 0.8 and a takedown average of 1.49 per 15 minutes, ‘The Prodigy’ will try to take the fight to the ground.
When it comes to striking, Turman has a striking accuracy of 49% and a striking defense of 46% making him an average fighter on the feet. Furthermore, 4 out of his total victories have come by the way of knockout. ‘The Prodigy’ has a significant strike rate of 3.04 per minute while he absorbs 3.87 strikes per minute.
MMAFighting: UFC Vegas 49 video: Wellington Turman surprises Misha Cirkunov with devastating armbar submission (@DamonMartin) https://t.co/2gv0KAVK9R pic.twitter.com/16Ss4242PB
— The Sports Zone™ (@TheSportsZone__) February 27, 2022
On the other hand, Jared Gooden is a knockout artist with 11 of his 18 victories coming via KO. ‘Nite Train’ has a decent significant strike rate as he lands 4.73 strikes per minute however, he absorbs 6.76 strikes in return. He has a decent striking defense of 48% and a striking accuracy of 47%. Furthermore, with a takedown defense of 68%, Gooden will ensure that the match stays on the feet.
Jared Gooden is no slouch on the ground since he has 6 wins via submission. Furthermore, with a takedown accuracy of 100% and a takedown average of 0.49 Gooden can easily take the match to the ground if required. However, he has yet to get his first submission victory in the UFC.
JARED GOODEN WITH THE 1ST ROUND KO #UFCVegas33
pic.twitter.com/4EJDyGnBNu— The Playground 2.0 (@BrandedMMA) August 1, 2021
This fight is very important for both the fighters since they are coming off a loss. Both Wellington and Jared will give it all to start a winning streak in the UFC. While Turman has a slight edge on the ground, Gooden’s takedown defense might prevent him from taking the fight down. On the other hand, Gooden’s knockout power gives him the edge on the feet plus he has a decent ground game to counter Turman.
