Jens Pulver’s Best Night
Jake Rossen Mar 9, 2010
Combat sports fans are not nostalgic. Muhammad Ali’s career has
been nicely eulogized in documentaries and books, but once you get
past that reverence, your value exists only as a reflection of your
last fight. Because Jens Pulver
has dropped seven of his last eight, you can imagine the level of
audience pity at work.
This is not particularly fair. There are several reasons Pulver should be remembered for better days, but none with the significance that came with his win over B.J. Penn in 2002. (By this sport’s standards, the Paleolithic Era.) Despite being the UFC’s lightweight champion and owner of a 14-fight professional record, Pulver was the sportsbook underdog to Penn, who had only three pro bouts to his name. Yet Penn was all anyone wanted to talk about -- that, or the ridiculousness of having two lightweights headline a UFC event for the first time.
Pulver wired a lot of jaws shut that night, even though Penn did
exactly what was expected of him: he had Pulver on the ground
within 15 seconds and was hanging off of Pulver’s neck inside of a
minute. But Pulver slammed him down, worked from inside his guard,
and eventually made enough of an impression with his fists that
Penn did something he hasn’t done much since: pull guard.
Pulver would continue popping up off of Penn’s takedowns, either stomping forward on the feet or reversing position and delivering short, chopping strikes to Penn. In round two, Penn had the mount: Pulver survived. At the end of the round, he had Pulver in a cinched-up armbar: Pulver hung on for the bell. Judges eventually had the fight a majority decision for the champion, who left with a parting “Sometimes, hype just ain’t enough.” Watch those five rounds eight years later and you might be surprised at the level of clean, disciplined technique on display -- how Pulver and Penn grappled and parried in a way that made the sport seem classier than it probably was at the time.
Pulver’s career took precipitous turns after that. He wanted more money. And he was right to demand it: according to Pulver, Penn made nearly as much in losing as Pulver made as the winner. But that head-butting with promoters took him into an unwieldy, uneven career that led him back into the UFC only after age and ring wear had set in.
It’s a rotten thing, judging a fighter based on their worst days -- which are inevitably their most recent. The fight with Penn is the kind of fight that nudged the sport a little closer to respectability. For a lightweight, Pulver did a lot of heavy lifting. Remember that instead.
This is not particularly fair. There are several reasons Pulver should be remembered for better days, but none with the significance that came with his win over B.J. Penn in 2002. (By this sport’s standards, the Paleolithic Era.) Despite being the UFC’s lightweight champion and owner of a 14-fight professional record, Pulver was the sportsbook underdog to Penn, who had only three pro bouts to his name. Yet Penn was all anyone wanted to talk about -- that, or the ridiculousness of having two lightweights headline a UFC event for the first time.
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Pulver would continue popping up off of Penn’s takedowns, either stomping forward on the feet or reversing position and delivering short, chopping strikes to Penn. In round two, Penn had the mount: Pulver survived. At the end of the round, he had Pulver in a cinched-up armbar: Pulver hung on for the bell. Judges eventually had the fight a majority decision for the champion, who left with a parting “Sometimes, hype just ain’t enough.” Watch those five rounds eight years later and you might be surprised at the level of clean, disciplined technique on display -- how Pulver and Penn grappled and parried in a way that made the sport seem classier than it probably was at the time.
Pulver’s career took precipitous turns after that. He wanted more money. And he was right to demand it: according to Pulver, Penn made nearly as much in losing as Pulver made as the winner. But that head-butting with promoters took him into an unwieldy, uneven career that led him back into the UFC only after age and ring wear had set in.
It’s a rotten thing, judging a fighter based on their worst days -- which are inevitably their most recent. The fight with Penn is the kind of fight that nudged the sport a little closer to respectability. For a lightweight, Pulver did a lot of heavy lifting. Remember that instead.
