MMA News Forums » MMA Forums » General MMA Forum

[T]

There is a bigger article so I just posted the interview with Jens.

rivalfights.com - Some heavy hitters were in attendance among the crowd including special guest and former 3x UFC lightweight champion Jens “little evil” Pulver, Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia, and IFL featherweight L.C. Davis. I had a chance to sit with Jens and talk about his upcoming bout with current WEC featherweight champion, Urijah Faber. Jens seemed focused and in high spirits about his opportunity. “I feel phenomenal, just excited as can be. I’m ready, there’s no injuries, no excuses.” Said Pulver. “The stars are aligned, everything is right!”

“Right now, it’s about tightening up and getting a game plan for him. More than anything, I want to come back, I want to throw down, I want to be the champion. I have trained hard; nobody knows how hard I have trained for this fight. There are no excuses in this fight. There’s nothing hurting me, nothing’s holding me back, nothing’s holding me down. This is the best that I feel, so this is it right here for me."

Jens went on to tell me how he ranked Faber to his other opponents that have included guys like B.J. Penn, Caol Uno and Takanori Gomi. “At 145 he ranks really high, I mean overall? Again, Takanori Gomi, he’s been around for a while. Sakurai, Caol Uno…you know people like that, B.J. Penn, they’ve been fighting. Urijah is seemingly new on the scene because the WEC is just now blowing up at 145, there starting to get that Love. A lot of people say Oh, you know Jens has been in there against the tougher, stronger fighter’s, but the reality is, he’s got a big win streak going, he’s got title defenses under him, he’s got confidence. That’s a tough kid to beat no matter who you are. They have him ranked in the top 5 pound for pound for a reason. He’s good, he’s tough, he’s strong, he’ ranks right there with the rest of them. He’s a world champion, how many world champions are you gonna fight? He ranks right there up at the top!”

“You know the one thing I definitely gotta counter is his wrestling, his striking. He loves speed, but more than that I have to get away from stand up and drown him. I have to counter his explosiveness, I gotta counter his confidence. He likes to come jumping in with punches, lunging in, exploding back and forth, being the faster, younger fighter. My job is gonna be the older, harder veteran. I gotta crank on him, I gotta take that speed and turn it to quicksand. He’s California pretty; I’m Iowa rugged, bottom line. I’ve always been. Out here, were used to being knocked down, knocked around. There’s nothing pretty about what we do, but we get it done and that’s basically what it’s gonna come down to.”

“We all know how to wrestle, we know how to punch, we know how to kick. They’re four ounce gloves! A guy with no boxing strength can knock out a great boxer with one punch, that’s all you need. So the reality is to stop the explosion and get out there and weigh on him, lean on him, pressure him and hurt him. Everything I do has got to hurt him."

I asked Pulver were he sees the lighter weight classes going in the future. “Well you know, the sky’s the limit, at 135 you’ve got guy’s like Miguel Torres who’s an unbelievable champion. I know right now that because the WEC and the UFC are under the same umbrella with ownership, there gonna make it a lighter division for lighter guy’s. That’s phenomenal, we need that. But we need fighters like this (referring to Extreme contenders), I have a feeling your gonna see a Tyson Griffin or maybe a Frankie Edgar down there at 145, soon as everyone get’s over that myth that the only way your gonna get any fame is to be in the UFC. This weight class is exploding; me and Urijah have no problem getting TV time. As long as we put in the work, just like the lightweights are the backbone of boxing, we’ll be the backbone of mma."

Jens finished the conversation thanking his supporters. “You know, it’s been a long road, a long strange journey and I just want to thank all my fans, thank you very much. Every time someone’s come up to me and asked, hey can I get an autograph? Hey can I get a picture? It means the world to me. Its huge support, I love the support. I’ve got a lot of people that have been around, stuck around, rocked with me through some hard times, good times, bad times and been through it all. This is a big fight, so get out there to Sacramento if you can and watch it. If you can’t, turn on Verses. If not, throw a prayer out there for me and Urijah and make sure we have a great fight and thank you all very much for your support!”

Good read, glad to see he isn't under estimating Faber. Class act guy really like him. I like how he asked for prayer for the both of them, that is cool. I hope he wins but either way it will be a great fight!

[Gurry]

man i hope jensi wins, i always liked jensi. Hes gotta really scrappy spirit but is always respectul.

WAR JENS

[jrcbk]

I don't see how anyone cannot be a Pulver fan. That interview is typical Pulver: respectful and down-to-earth. And from what I hear, he treats his fans great. GL, Jens!

[mmasince91]

I hope Jens wins!!! Good luck JENS!

[KcMizzou]

Doesn't get much better than that.

I'd like to buy that guy a beer.