Jens Pulver challenges Urijah Faber on Versus in the most anticipated bout in WEC history
June 1st will mark the beginning of a new era in Mixed Martial Arts when World Extreme Cagefighting brings their product to a live audience on the Versus Network. World Extreme Cagefighting, better known as the WEC, is the little brother to MMA-megapower, the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Both companies are owned by ZUFFA, and this will be a big test to see if the WEC can develop stars and draw huge audiences comparable to the UFC. This is the first high-profile fight in the short existence of the WEC, and will play an essential role in where the company goes from here.
To this point, the WEC has been portrayed as the junior varsity league to the supremely popular UFC promotion. A smaller organization created to advertise up-and-coming talent. The idea of the WEC appears to be to compliment the UFC, rather than compete with it, which is likely a wise business move. One advantage the WEC carries over the UFC is a wider variety of weightclasses, including the popular 145 lb. class. The smaller fighters compete at a more fierce and fast-paced level, often making for more action-packed fights.
June 1st will easily feature the most anticipated fight in WEC history when former UFC Lightweight Champion Jens "Lil' Evil" Pulver, challenges WEC Featherweight Champion, Urijah Faber. Faber is a young, aggressive fighter with a significant wrestling background that has propelled him to a 20-1 professional record. Faber hasn't lost in nearly three years, but the 28 year-old hasn't consistently faced the stiff competition his counterpart has.
Pulver has fought, and defeated some of the best fighters in world. He split a series of fights with B.J. Penn, who is widely regarded as the most gifted mixed-martial-artist in the world. Also, he had a spirited effort against MMA Sensation, Takanori Gomi in Japan. Following an embarassing upset loss to Joe Lauzon, and a one-sided defeat at the hands of B.J. Penn in their rematch, Pulver's career seemed to be on the rocks. However, Pulver made the rational decision to drop back to the 145lb. weight division. In his inaugural WEC contest, "Lil' Evil" impressively defeated the over-confident, Cub Swanson just 35 seconds into the opening round.
Pulver, like Faber, is an accomplished wrestler, and in addition to his mma career, "Lil' Evil" is an undefeated professional boxer, with power in both hands. Faber certainly has a strength and athleticism advantage, but Pulver's top-level experience, cage-savvy, and hand-speed might be a surprise to many. This is a highly anticipated event, and should put the WEC in the MMA spotlight, atleast for the moment.
