Jens Pulver

Jens Johnnie Pulver (born December 6, 1974) is an American retired professional mixed martial artist and undefeated boxer and kickboxer.

Pulver was the inaugural UFC Lightweight Champion in addition to serving as the head coach on The Ultimate Fighter 5 reality show against long-time rival B.J. Penn.

In mixed martial arts, Pulver competed at the Lightweight, Featherweight, Bantamweight and Flyweight divisions in addition to competing at the Middleweight, Light Middleweight, and Welterweight divisions as a professional boxer.

Lowell got Pulver involved in sanctioned MMA events, namely the Bas Rutten Invitational in April 1999.

Pulver won one match, then lost the second due to his lack of martial arts training.

He fought again in the third incarnation of the Bas Rutten Invitational, winning both his fights and impressing then-UFC matchmaker, John Perretti.

Pulver moved to Lockeford, California, in 1999 where he briefly trained at the Lion's Den and then joined Shamrock 2000, a short lived camp formed by Bob Shamrock (the foster father of Ken and Frank Shamrock) Kevin Woo, and Dr. Ron Emmerson.

Pulver noted that there was a little kid who would show up at the gym to hit the bags in those days named Nick Diaz with his younger brother Nate, both of whom later became MMA stars.

Pulver, who hated his name because it was the same as his father's, even asked Bob at one point if he could take the Shamrock name since Bob was the first real father figure he felt he ever had.

Bob told him: "You go out there and make the Pulver name mean something good."

Pulver would later go on to become the first 155-pound champion in UFC history.

Pulver wanted to fight full-time, but they did not have the right training partners for him.

Shamrock put him in contact with Monte Cox and sent him to Iowa, where Pat Miletich was starting a camp where he could train full-time.

Pulver began competing in the UFC in September 1999.

He fought four times in the UFC before gaining a title shot against top ranked Caol Uno in February 2001.

Pulver won the title by unanimous decision, becoming the first UFC Lightweight Champion.

He defended his title twice against Dennis Hallman and B.J. Penn before leaving the organization due to contractual problems.

Pulver became famous for his combination of defensive wrestling and boxing strategies colloquially called "sprawl and brawl" in MMA circles.

Pulver's first title defense came against Dennis Hallman who is best known for his two wins against former UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes).

While perhaps best known for competing in the UFC, Pulver has also competed in Pride Fighting Championships, for the PRIDE 2005 Lightweight Grand Prix.

He is to-date the youngest UFC Lightweight Champion in the UFC history, eventually relinquishing his title, after two defenses, due to a contract dispute.

Pulver officially retired from combat sports in 2014.

Nicknamed Lil' Evil, Pulver won the first UFC Lightweight Championship following his victory over Caol Uno at UFC 30: Battle on the Boardwalk.

Pulver also held the UFC's all-time lightweight title defenses record for nearly a decade after his successful defenses against Dennis Hallman at UFC 33: Victory in Vegas and B.J. Penn at UFC 35: Throwdown.

He remains as one of the most influential figures in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, due to his domination and undefeated reign as UFC Lightweight Champion in the early Zuffa era.

The son of a licensed horse jockey, Jens Pulver was born in Sunnyside, Washington, and grew up in Maple Valley, Washington (approximately an hour's drive from Seattle).

He was the oldest of four children, two brothers, Dustin and Abel, and one sister, Jamaica.

Pulver has heterochromia, a harmless medical condition that gives eyes different colors; in Pulver's case his right eye is blue, while his left eye is brown.

Pulver was raised in what he referred to as a "daily hell."

His childhood house was one of continual violence and abuse, stemming mostly from his alcoholic father.

Many examples of the abuse Pulver faced as a youth are depicted in his autobiography, Little Evil, One Ultimate Fighter's Rise to the Top, the most extreme of which include an incident where his father threatened the then-seven-year-old Jens by placing a shotgun in Jens' mouth and then removing it, stating, "Shit, ain't worth a bullet."

The summer before he entered sixth grade, Pulver was introduced to a friend of the family, Jack Vantress.

Vantress encouraged Pulver to join a youth wrestling program.

He went on to wrestle at Tahoma Senior High School in Maple Valley, earning two state championships.

He also began boxing when he was a junior.

Pulver wrestled for Highline Community College where he became an NJCAA All-American by placing in the top eight at the NJCAA National Championships.

He then wrestled for Boise State University (BSU), before he suffered a bilateral fracture of the wrists that eventually ended his collegiate career.

Pulver eventually graduated from BSU with a degree in criminal justice.

While in college, Pulver's interests shifted from wrestling to mixed martial arts.

He found early success fighting in unsanctioned "underground" events, before befriending Lowell Anderson, the owner of a Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) academy ninety miles north of Boise, Idaho.