Interviews

Jens Pulver Talks Games And His Title Fight Against Urijah Faber

May 30, 2008

This Sunday Jens “Lil Evil” Pulver will challenge Urijah “The California Kid” Faber for the WEC featherweight championship belt, that’s 145-pounds if you don’t follow the fight game. Which also means that you probably don’t know Pulver is a big time gamer. We caught up with Pulver, the former UFC lightweight champ, over the phone in between training sessions in Sacramento, California to talk about his shot at the belt and a few of his favorite titles. Read the full interview after the jump. If you’re up for a bloody Sunday catch the fight live on the Versus network at 9 pm eastern.

DasGamer: In your debut WEC fight, you took Cub Swanson down pretty hard in the first round of your WEC debut. Things seemed pretty heated what did you say to him after the fight?
Jens Pulver: Afterwards when I saw him out in the lobby I said things got heated before the fight but I respected him. I thanked him for the fight and said I was looking forward to watching him fight in the future.” All that heated stuff I left it in the cage when I walked away. I didn’t take it with me.

How’d he respond?
He said cool you know. We were pretty cool after that he had some friends and we took some pictures a hung out for a bit. And I let them go about their evening. I understand the disappointment and things like that, God knows I’ve had losses and wins and everything else. I know how he was feeling. It’s just one of those things that you got to move on.

Was it tough sitting next to Urijah Faber doing the promo videos during the last UFC fight?
Not at all. He’s cool. I’ve got no animosity because I know and he knows that at the end of the day there’s no place to run. There’s no place to hide. There’s no reason to bad mouth or trash talk. ‘Cause we’re gonna get in there on Sunday and we’re gonna do it. We’re not going to sit there and laugh at each other and say, “Ooh, good shot,” we’re going to try and put each other down. He’s going to try to hold onto his belt and I’m going to try to take it. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t respect him and thought he wasn’t a good fighter and a good person.

Do you think you have superior experience to Faber?
I don’t think I have anything superior at all. I’ve been in a couple of big fights. I’ve been on the receiving end of those fights and I’ve come out on top of some. What he has, he’s got momentum. He hasn’t lost since 2005 or whatever. If I don’t stand back and make him pay for moving, or make him pay for throwing a punch, he’s just going to keep steamrolling. I almost got to deflate his balloon, bring him down to level ground and get on him. That’s the only thing that experience is going to help me with. I’ve been punched. I’ve been kicked. I’ve been on the receiving end and been on the giving end. I can take that in there with me.

What’s the difference between fighting UFC and WEC.
The biggest difference is that this is building, a pioneering thing in the WEC. When I started out in the UFC I was a pioneer at 155. Now they have a lot of big names and the heavier weight classes and lots of fans and media. But it wasn’t like that back when I started. What’s cool about the WEC is that I find myself in the pioneering position. We’re setting the bar at 145. It’s been a blast. In the UFC this would be one of many great fights that have happened before. But for the WEC and with Versus we’re setting a precedent with this fight. It’s cool to be a part of it, the way it’s been carried and publicized and marketed. This is a first and I’m real fortunate to be a part of it.

What’s your call on when the fight will end?
The first round is going to be slippery. A lot of things can happen if you have that dry skin. A lot of things can happen out there right off the bat that set the pace. But I don’t see this going past two rounds. I’m just going out there to float and just be punishing from the word go. I’m going to look for my openings, look for the things I can try to finish this fight with. I’ve never been to a decision at 145. I’ve knocked out seven and submitted one. I’m looking to finish this fight as quickly as possible. But I know it’s going to be a war.

Have you been working a lot on your submissions?
It’s been a huge part, and really the side I’ve kept the quietest. Even in the training people don’t film me on the ground with the amount of training I’ve been doing. I’ve been working diligently on the ground with Pedro Silveira in Iowa. More than anything I’ve been trying to make the ground game part of my arsenal and to be able to do it without thinking.

What’s the last thought that’ll cross your mind when they close the cage door?
Be perfect. Don’t just stand there and take what he has to give. Don’t worry about win or lose. Just go out there and fight. I’m going to make sure that my eyes are open, go after my game plan and not worry about what happens next.

When you’re not prepping for a fight, what games are you playing?
COD 4 has been my big game on the PC. They’ve been a big sponsor of mine. It’s been fun being a part of the Activision crew. I got to do the Microsoft Game with Fame event on the Xbox. I don’t mind the Xbox at all but I’m so much better at the controls on the PC. I’m not good with my thumbs.

How’d you do?
I had a blast. I think I got up to level 42. I got on there around Tuesday and that kind of took them by surprise. They said most of the people that do it only show up for two hours and don’t talk. I had a good time playing and hanging out in some groups. It was a lot of fun. I played the whole time.

What titles are you looking forward to this year?
The new maps for the COD 4 expansion packs, the new maps, I love that. I beat Crysis, love that game. I haven’t been playing much World of Warcraft but I know when Wrath of the Lich King comes out I’m going to have to level up to 80 like everybody else. Real quick though, I don’t get to do all the raiding and stuff like that, but really just want to see what new first person shooters are coming out. I’m going to spend a little more time competing COD 4 online with my team. Sometimes I get just as amped up playing online sometimes. Even though it’s a cartoon character so to speak there are real people controlling them and I’m a competitor.

Is there any aspect you would change about World of Warcraft?
You know, not too much. They’ve got it set up so that people keep playing it over and over again. I didn’t mind back when people got to level 60 and you had to grind to Grand Marshal. Now you see people that if they put in the time they have the same armor and weapons. And they don’t have to be a Grand Marshal. I kind of liked the status. That GM was a hard thing to get. I kind of liked that they had that separation.

You want to see people pay the price and earn it kind of like fighting.
Yeah, exactly. So in a wishful world you’d like to have it easy but so would anybody. They’d love to be in my shoes, in the main event at Arco Arena and doing interviews. But you do gotta pay the price and nothing comes easy. That was the best part about grinding to Grand Marshal. Even though it was in-game and not much to people in the real world, in the game it was one of those feats that people would see and say, “Dang that’s hard to do.” I do like the fact that they shrinked down the raids. Those 40-man raids, God you’d have to wait around forever. I like they got a smaller groups. Someone’s always gotta go to the bathroom or someone gets disconnected. It makes me feel real old when someone’s mom comes in and turns their computer off so you gottta find a subsittute. That makes you say, “Wow, am I too old to be playing this? [Laughs]”

Cool man, good luck in the fight.

Jens Pulver and Urijah Faber will fight live on Versus this Sunday at 9 pm eastern.