When I saw that Jens Pulver was fighting Cub Swanson in his WEC debut, I got a little nervous for the guy. Frankly, I imagined a Ken Shamrock-like showing, where a past-his-prime fighter was brought in for a young fighter to work over like a piece of meat. It sucked seeing Shamrock get mashed by Rich Franklin. And Ortiz. And, well, Ortiz again. Not that I’m a Shamrock fan, but it’s just sad. It’s like watching a dog get hit by a car, and there’s nothing you can do about it. I didn’t really want to see Pulver’s hopes get dashed in the same manner.
Instead of coming in to fanfare and getting his ass handed to him, Pulver pulled out a quick, decisive win. It was great on a several levels.
First, he beat a rising competitor.
Is WEC the same caliber promotion as the UFC? I don’t think so—at least for most weight divisions. Virtually any name UFC light heavyweight would destroy that Rhino guy, no problem. Carlos Condit is an appealing welterweight in that he looks like a college kid who’s going to get his ass kicked, but in the end he smokes his challengers. Could he compete against GSP or any other top-tier UFC guy? Again, I don’t think so. Lightweights? Again, I don’t know; there’s some tough UFC lightweights now.
But WEC’s featherweight division is pretty happening. Uriah Faber is a dominant cat and looks like pretty unstoppable. I’ve seen a few WEC featherweight fights and there seems to be some competition—if not for Faber, then at least among contenders. Cub Swanson has had some battles and seemed like a legit challenge for Pulver. I didn’t see it as a walk-through or warm-up debut match-up by any means.
Second, he got to show his personality and charm after the fight in the decision announcement and interview. Stupid, yeah, I know, but I think flavor is an important element to this sport. People that are goons or idiots (see: Diego fncking Sanchez) are just not interesting. Granted, there are a lot of dumb people in this world (see: Harley Davidson’s booming apparel and retail expansion) and maybe they connect with idiots. I know Diego has his fans. I, for sure, am not one of them. I’m no Jens “nuthugger” either, but the guy has some flavor. His backstory is crazy (see: father holding gun to his head), and the fact that he seems to by-and-large be a kind-hearted person is pretty fascinating. He’s essentially the consummate underdog. He’s small, he’s from a fncked up family and he’s probably not exceptionally intelligent (see: Mensa). But he’s got a sort of kid-brother charm and it showed. Folks that saw it like I did probably got the same feeling after his win.
Third and most important, he won quickly by submission. Jens got smoked by BJ Penn, a bjj expert, and everyone in the world expects Jens to rely entirely on his striking. Sorta like a mini Chuck Liddell. In this fight, Jens won quickly and cleanly with a smooth 10-finger guillotine. That’s pretty slick. It showed his maturity and his ability to learn and grow.
Homeboy’s a seasoned pro. If he’s capable of continuing to grow and diversify his skill set, I think Jens has a few more good years in his fighting career. Can he defeat a cat like Uriah Faber? My money would be on “no”. But not everybody gets to be the champ, you know? He’s had his time in the sun, he’s been champion, and if he can keep on competing then more power to him. I’m just glad he didn’t get embarrassed in his debut.
