Get ready for June 1st by tuning into Versus for a one hour preview of the upcoming Faber v. Pulver fight. Showtimes (EST) are as follows:
05/26: 6PM
05/27: 6PM
05/28: 9PM
05/29: 12AM
05/29: 10PM
05/30: 1AM
05/31: 10PM
06/01: 1AM
06/01: 8PM

Coming off of an impressive 35-second submission victory over Cub Swanson in his WEC debut, Jens Pulver has set the bar high for his upcoming title bout against featherweight champion Urijah Faber.

"If everything goes well, this will end in the first ten seconds," he says.

Pulver could easily deliver on his promise. As most fans know, despite his last two losses in the UFC, his record (22-8-1) includes 12 first-round finishes.

But on Jun. 1 at Arco Arena in Sacramento, Calif., WEC 34 – billed as the league's biggest fight in history – will be more than a chance to earn a new belt or add a win to his record. For 32-year-old Pulver, a victory will seal his relevancy in today's world of MMA.

"I was a champion when MMA wasn't very big -- it was nowhere near the magnitude that it is now," says Pulver. "The timing was off. This fight is going to be huge because it's a chance to be a champion now at the level that sport is at now."

Don't get him wrong; Pulver embraces his reputation as an MMA legend. It's just that he's not one to settle on past achievements. With this event, he's out to prove that he has evolved in tandem with the sport.

To prepare for the physical side of his face-off against Faber (who has been undefeated since 2006), Pulver has altered his typical training regimen. "There's been a lot of refining of what I used to do," he says. Usual practice sessions with longtime partners like Spencer Fisher and Josh Neer have been supplemented with triathlon workouts and modified weight lifting to improve endurance and range of motion, respectively. The former All-American wrestler has also gone back to his roots, focusing on his stand-up technique.

Ultimately, he's never felt better.

"Some people call me old, some count me out," he says. "But it's just going to make things that much sweeter when I put it all out there."

Such was the battle cry of Jens Pulver after his 35-second submission victory over Cub Swanson at WEC 31 last December. Though some fans wondered if Pulver’s previous two losses in the UFC (to Joe Lauzon and BJ Penn) signaled that his career was heading toward its conclusion, the sheer dominance displayed in his first match as a featherweight proved that a new chapter was just beginning. And along with his fierce reputation, the win was enough to get him an immediate shot at the WEC’s featherweight title, which has been held by Urijah Faber since March 2006.

In his four title defenses, Faber has looked absolutely unbeatable. But he’s never faced anybody as seasoned or explosive as Pulver, whose 21 career victories include seven via stoppage in 60 seconds or less. The matchup, which goes down at WEC 34 (June 1st; Sacramento, CA), is easily the biggest 145-pound MMA contest in American history, and has all the ingredients to become an all-time classic. In advance of that fight, we called Jens at his home base in Bettendorf, Iowa, to discuss “The California Kid,” his legacy, video games, and how his old rival BJ Penn will do against Sean Sherk at UFC 84.

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CAGEPOTATO.COM: Talk to me about Urijah Faber — what do you think of him as a person?
JENS PULVER: Oh, I think he’s a great person. I like Urijah, man. He comes in great shape, likes to be explosive, and he’s really inventive out there in the cage. I think he’s done a real good job taking the reigns at 145, representing it, and trying to build it up.

So you don’t see yourself having a heated personal rivalry with him, like you had with Cub Swanson and BJ Penn? We’re not going to see any trash talking?
No, there’s no bad blood, no trash talking; it’s utmost respect. We’re gonna go out there and show everybody that we don’t have to have animosity to fight our hearts out. We’re going to prove that...

this is just a quick shout out to those who wonder if its really me gaming out there online with them. yes it is, (told ya hurricane 2152)but its been a blast gaming and if you havent checked it out remember the game with fame tomorrow i will be on 7:30 my time and off in time to catch the second half of the ufc. get at you all later.

Written by: www.mmamadness.com

For UFC Legend Jens Pulver, it seemed like the end of the road. He had just dropped his second straight, a submission loss to BJ Penn. The prior loss wasn’t much better – a KO at the hands of unknown Joe Lauzon.

But where other fighters would give up, Pulver made a plan. “I went to Dana and I said ‘Hey, I want to help build this [the WEC] and I want to be a part of this.’” By “staying under the Zuffa umbrella,” as Pulver puts it, he gained the ability to revive his career and be a part of something big.

The revival came first, in the form of a dominating first round victory against top featherweight Cub Swanson. Pulver recognized the opportunity that he held prior to the fight. “For me, it was big because I didn’t want to lose three fights. I’d lost to BJ and Lauzon and I was like ‘come on!’ I didn’t want to go 0-3 so the biggest thing was I needed to know that I could still compete.”

With a sound mental attitude in place, Pulver had just one thing left to do: capitalize. “Patience was my game plan. I wanted to let him try to take me down. If he shot in, the plan was to punish him and lock in the guillotine. I needed to lay back, be cool, calm, collected, and if I got to a point where I’m weak, just keep attacking. I didn’t even throw one punch.”

Jens didn’t need that one punch as he (keeping true to his plan) calmly locked in an anaconda choke 35 seconds into the bout.

With his career revived, Jens looked to be a part of something bigger. He’ll do just that on June 1st when he takes on reigning champion Urijah Faber in the ARCO arena. “A bunch of 145 pounders selling out an arena? What’s bigger than that?”

hey all just wanted to say whats up. the week was a good one lots of hard training, the fight seems like its far away but you know how that is when your looking forward to something so bad it comes up so fast lol. Not a whole lot more really to write this week, just the day in and day outs of training, half the time i cant tell what day it is other than what i am doing for training. for those who play xbox360 the game with fame is coming up april 19th so if any of you are Call of duty 4 fans, come on line and game with me for a bit before the UFC of course. if not check me out on PC on the server called A CAT HOUSE 1 names lilevil (go figure). well i hope you all have a great weekend.

Mixed martial arts legend Jens "Lil' Evil" Pulver is taking a break from his training regimen to play Xbox LIVE® members in Call of Duty® 4: Modern Warfare™ Saturday, April 19, 2008.

If you're an Xbox LIVE Gold member, and you want a chance to play with one of the greatest fighters of all time, send a friend request to the following Gamertag and then be online half an hour before (8:30 P.M. ET) the Game with Fame session starts. Jens will be online 9:00 - 11:00 P.M. Eastern time (6:00 - 8:00 P.M. PT) on Saturday, April 19:

* COD4JensPulver

Three-time Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight champion, and the godfather of the lightweight division Jens Pulver has challenged World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) featherweight champion Urijah Faber to a match Sunday, June 1, at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California. The WEC Featherweight Championship will be up for grabs and you can be sure Pulver will be in fine shape for the match. He plans on tuning up with a little Call of Duty 4 and hopes that you'll join him for the event!

If you get a chance to play with Jens Pulver, we want to hear about it! Send us an e-mail with the subject: "GWF – Jens Pulver." Be sure to include your Gamertag and home town.

Courtesy xbox.com