MMA legend and WEC fighter Jens “Lil’ Evil” Pulver (22-11-1 MMA, 1-3 WEC) will make his return to the cage at WEC 41 on June 7 at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, California. His opponent is 20 year old up and comer Josh “The Fluke” Grispi (12-1 MMA, 2-0 WEC), as reported by Michael David Smith.
Jens has only won one in his last six fights and it has been questioned if Pulver may be ready to retire from the sport all together. Neither of Pulver’s last two fights have gone more than two minutes into the first round and his power and chin have been called into question.
Pulver has a long resume of fighting MMA stars such as Takanori Gomi, Hyato Sakurai, Joe Lauzon, B.J. Penn, Leonard Garcia, and Uriah Faber. While Pulver is known for his left hand and winning 13 of his 22 fights by knockout, he has not knocked anyone out since April of 2006. Pulver looks to end that streak of no knockouts and his WEC losing streak against versatile Josh Grispi.
Saying that Josh Grispi is a young up and comer is not giving enough credit to the very tough and well versed 20 year old. Grispi has fought twice in the WEC against Mark Hominick (16-8 MMA, 2-0 UFC) and Micah Miller (10-3 MMA, 2-2 WEC) and won both in impressive fashion in less then 3:00 minutes of round number one. He has shown his versatility by winning six fights by submissions, five fights by knockout, and has only gone to decision once.
With the pressure of needing a victory on Jens Pulver and the chance for Grispi to add a hall of famer to his already great resume, and with only 8 decisions between the two, this is sure to be a great fight.
This fight has been added on to an already stacked card that includes Mike Brown vs. Uriah Faber for the WEC 145lb title, Donald Cerrone vs. Rich Crunkilton, the WEC debut for UFC Ultimate Fighter Manny Gamburyan, and also a rumored fight for former number one contender Leonard Garcia.
By: Tim Thompson