After years of campaigns, both clandestine and mainstream, Jens Pulver He became a member of the UFC Hall of Fame in 2023.
He was the promotion’s first lightweight champion in 2001. In fact, he never lost the title. After two defenses over Dennis Hallman and BJ Penn, he was removed during a contract dispute.
Pulver retired in 2013 after nearly 50 professional fights in the UFC, PRIDE, WEC, ONE FC and others. He has a clear sense of pride in being a Hall of Famer, but said he knows his place in the Pioneer Wing makes sense, just as he thinks it does for Frank Shamrock, who has not yet entered.
“As long as you have that Pioneer Wing – see, did I deserve it? Maybe in my entire career? No, just winning the title is not enough for me,” Pulver told MMA Junkie Radio during UFC International Fight Week in Las Vegas. “And defending twice, losing the contract (dispute) – I’ve never been defeated. Nobody beat me. But being the champion, I don’t know if that’s enough.
“But as long as you have that Pioneer Wing, you can’t not have Frank Shamrock. That’s what was with me, and I think with everyone supporting me through everything: If you have this Pioneer Wing especially, there’s no way you can’t have the guy who created the 155-pound division. I won the belt and defended it twice, I never lost it and I continued as a pioneer of all the little guys. That’s where I would say yes to Frank, 100 percent.”
But he also wants to see other contemporaries who haven’t yet. as individuals. Dan Henderson and former Pulver teammate Robbie Lawler they are Hall of Fame members, but they are in the Fight Wing for specific fights.
Henderson will have his first fight in 2011 against Mauricio Rua at UFC 139. And Lawler will participate in his UFC 189 welterweight title defense against Rory MacDonald in 2015.
“I always had this piece and I kept it with me for a long time: when they talk about sports, do they have to mention your name?” Pulver said. “There’s no way you can’t (say that about me). I started a weight category, so there’s a pioneering spirit and then winning the belt – there’s no way to tell the story without having that there. When fans talk about the sport, who do they mention? Who are they talking about? Then you start from there: was it all worth it?
“There’s no way Dan Henderson ever will be. There’s no way Dan Henderson can’t be, shouldn’t be, in a hall of fame. There’s nothing like Dan Henderson, nothing like what that man did.
“…I love Robbie – he’s my little brother. Another: 100% should be there. If you talk about the sport of MMA, you can’t help but mention Robbie Lawler. Some of the biggest fights you’ve ever seen, the titles he’s had, the fights he’s had, how he started as a young man, him and Nick (Diaz) in that first fight, and how long he’s been in this sport – there’s no way talk about UFC, MMA and fighting without talking about Robbie Lawler.”
