He’s built like a mini-tank, has multiple tattoos around his body, sports a crazy haircut and owns some of the gnarliest cauliflower ears, this side of Randy Couture. So based purely on looks, you’d think World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight Jens Pulver would be an intimidating and mean individual. While his in-ring/cage persona fits amazingly well with his “Lil’ Evil” nickname, the Maple Valley, Wash native has very little “evil” outside of the competitive stage. The good folks at the WEC recently got me in touch with the former Tahoma high school wrestling standout and ex-UFC lightweight champion. The 22-8-1 fighter discussed a wide range of issues including his upcoming bout with WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber and his ultimate goal of coming back home.
TK: Thanks for taking the time to speak with me.
JP: Anything for Seattle.
TK: Tell me how training has been going.
JP: I’m right here at the same gym as always (Iowa’s Miletich Fighting Systems). I’ve also been training boxing at Alleycat gym and TFX gym for all my lifting and plyometrics and the local YMCA for swimming. I’m just kind of training all around Quad Cities. It’s been great.
TK: Talk to me about your upcoming title fight with Urijah Faber. What do you think of him and how do you plan on beating him?
JP: He’s a good champion. An explosive kid who goes out there and finishes fights. He can do some pretty off the wall things in the middle of fights. He’s just a really powerful guy. I just plan on taking it to him quick and explosive. You have to slow a guy like him down, like putting him in quicksand and prevent him from moving his feet. Then I just want to put pressure on him, put my size on him, put my own power on him. He loves scrambling and can do it all day long, so you have to just really try and slow him down. But I want to take the wrestling to him too. If he wants to grapple, let’s grapple. Everybody tries to size up my grappling because of how successful I wasn’t against BJ Penn. Well really? I mean how many people are very successful against BJ Penn, I mean he’s the best there is. I’m just out there to fight. Whatever I do, I just want it to hurt worse than whatever he does.

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