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When you've been fighting for almost a decade, completely overhauling your training methods might sound unconventional. But after Hurricane Ike postponed the WEC event originally scheduled for Sept. 10 to Nov. 5, Jens Pulver left Iowa and made the permanent jump to AMC Pankration in Washington in preparation for his bout this Wednesday with Leonard Garcia.
“Rich Franklin came out here and had a lot of good things to say about it. Spencer Fisher came out here and said, ‘Get ready to be humbled. It’s insane,’” Pulver told Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show last week.
For Pulver, who has trained off and on with the renowned Miletich Martial Arts team since 2000, it was time for a change.
“I love Iowa. It really let me be complacent though,” he said. “Being able to work with Matt Hume has been just insane. Everything’s been changed. I’m a rookie again -- literally. They’ve got amateurs out here that could just hand me a beating in a heartbeat in different styles.”
Even with the drastic leap, the 33-year-old Pulver understands the opportunities it presents.
“Rolling with Hume one day I was just humbled to no end,” Pulver said. “But at the same token I was excited because at one point I’m going to be fighting like this. This is the style that I’m after. What they bring, what they teach, the way that they want you to fight, that’s just tailor-made for me.”
With Pulver coming off a unanimous decision loss to WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber on June 1, the 29-year-old Garcia sees an opportunity to take advantage. As a guest recently on Pro MMA Radio, Garcia (11-3) said that Pulver’s “reaction time is a little slower than what it used to be” and that his goal in the fight is “to break him mentally.”
The weathered Pulver (22-9-1) takes Garcia’s enthusiasm in stride.
“When have I ever had an easy fight? Everybody always gets geared up to fight me,” said Pulver. “Whether I have the belt around my waist or I don’t people always know that this is that kind of platform that could make them or break them. At the same token, good, I’m glad he’s going off that reaction time. I’ll be damned if the same thing wasn’t said when I got hooked up to my machines here. ‘Hey, Jens has great endurance but he lacks explosion. You could see that in the fight with Faber.’ They’re just saying what was out there.”
The WEC is slowly becoming the big promotion for the lighter weight divisions in North America and so far, Pulver has been involved in one of its biggest fights. Faber vs. Pulver netted more than 1.5 million viewers during its broadcast on Versus.
“I know my role, it’s a pioneer in this sport in a lot of ways,” said Pulver. “I’ve been here long enough. I started bringing in those smaller guys in the UFC and now they’ve just taken off and run with it. I’ve always been that legend so to speak starting something new.”
Pulver is 1-1 since joining the WEC, with his win coming against Cub Swanson in his debut in December 2007. A win over Garcia would not only put Pulver over the .500 mark, but would also mark a new beginning for “Lil Evil.”
“This is the first step for me against Leonard,” said Pulver. “I’m starting over. I’m changing everything I’ve done the last six years and really starting to get more well-rounded and more into the sport.”
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