FightHype.com had a chance to sit down with Jens "Lil" Evil Pulver, who was scheduled to make his WEC debut against Cub Swanson on September 5th until he suffered an MCL tear in his left knee during training.  Jens talks about a variety of combat sports issues, including his experience on TUF 5, his predictions for Mayweather-Hatton, his thoughts on the upcoming September 5th WEC card and much more.

JB: What's going to be the biggest difference for you going from the 155 to 145 pound division?

JP: If anything, I'm not going to be the smallest guy anymore.  I'm not going to have to be a 150 pounder fighting guys that are coming down from 170.  I'm a guy that walks around at 160.  When I'm in great shape, I weigh in at 152, so that's a big confidence booster for me.  I'll be bigger, but I won't have to kill myself to make the weight.  I'm finally fighting at my weight class.

JB: Is your ultimate goal coming to the WEC to win the title?

JP: Yeah. Absolutely. I want to come in here and once again solidify myself as a great fighter.  I want to show people I'm back.

JB: You mentioned it was hard fighting at 155 because the guys were bigger and stronger then you, but when you left the UFC the first time, you were fighting guys in Asia at 160.  How big of a difference did the weight make there?

JP: Yeah, the weight over there definitely wore on me, along with the ten minute first rounds.  I mean, I weighed 148 when I fought Gomi.  I went at him as I hard as I could, but by like eight minutes in, even the shots that were hitting my shoulders were starting to hurt.  I just couldn't get him off me.  I have no excuses, he beat me, but by the same token, those bigger guys can take a lot more and you're expending a lot more energy trying to move them around. 

JB: Who do you like in the main event of the WEC card on September 5th between Rob McCullough and Richard Crunkilton?

JP: I'm going to stick with Rob.  He's got a good streak going and he is the champion.  He's got blistering stand-up, and his ground is getting better.  Crunkilton is a good wrestler and he has come along way, but I'm going to go with the dominating strikes and the intensity of the champ.

JB: After your fight with BJ, you expressed interest in going to Hawaii and training with him.  Did that ever materialize?

JP: It will materialize, but after I got bucked off the horse, I wanted to get back in there as soon as possible.  But yeah, after my next fight I would love to go train with B.J.  He's got a lot of knowledge in the area where I need the most work.

JB: Is Matt Hughes still taping TUF Season 6, and how is he getting along with Matt Serra?

JP: They're done, and from what I was told, we will have to wait and see.  I don't think they will match our season though. We had unbelievable fights, drama; it was something new every day.

JB: Yeah. like the unsanctioned bout in the backyard.

JP: (laughs)  Exactly. We had everything: fights in the backyard, people trashing the house, guys getting kicked off teams and then joining the other team, guys not making weight and laying naked on the floor. None of that was scripted. I was just sitting back thinking, oh my God, what can happen next?

JB: Who did you connect the most with on your team and who do you think has the brightest future?

JP: I connected with everyone.  I still talk to pretty much all of them.  Probably who I bonded with the most is Nate and Manny.  Just because of their attitudes, their drives and their desire to win.  Diaz was a leader by example. That kid worked out all damn day.  Manny was a fireplug.  I mean, he gets you fired up to play chess.

JB: What about Andy Wang, who joined your team half way through?

JP: You know, they really didn't do him justice.  The best way to describe Andy is by looking at what he did for Melendez. This is the guy who beat him and put him out of the tournament, and then Andy is the only guy that sat there and cut weight with him.  For two days Andy suffered with Melendez and was there to push him.  That's the kind of kid Andy was.  He's a great kid.

JB: You're 4-0 as a professional boxer with 3 KO's.  Two of your fights were on ESPN.  Do you have any plans to box in the future?

JP: I would love to box in between fights.  It's just no one wants to risk me getting hurt.  Boxing works wonders for your hands.  If the WEC was cool with it, I would definitely box.

JB: Have you ever sparred with any top professional boxers?

JP: No. I have spared with some good amateurs and some veterans with good records, but never with an elite boxer and I'm going to say thankfully so.  That's the one thing people don't understand: you might be able to throw hands, but what some people can do with just that ability, it's absolutely amazing.  I met Wayne McCullough at the UFC Finale.  It was just awesome to move around the ring with that guy.  He was one of my heroes.  Kostya Tyzsu still, to this day, one of the best fighters I have ever seen.  The way some people set up other people and hit them with clean shots, it's just amazing.  It makes me have admiration for guys like Floyd Mayweather Jr., who is just an unbelievable boxer.  I mean, when he wants to sit back and just box, you can't even touch him.  You see the things he does after you have been in the ring yourself, and you're just like, holy cow, that shit is amazing.

JB: So do you think Ricky Hatton has any chance against him in their up and coming bout?

JP: I always look at Floyd's first fight with Jose Luis Castillo.  I thought Castillo should have won that fight.  He had to eat the punches to get inside, but once he got in, he smothered him and was effective.  You give Floyd any type of room and he's going to wreck you.  I look at the Gatti fight and every time Gatti through a jab, he would get hit with three punches.  When Diego Correlas fought him, Floyd was knocking him down with lead left hooks.  You have to watch this guys speed.  If you can get past it, or take his initial shots and get inside, you have to give him a mugging afterwards.  You got to get ugly with him.  You can't try to box Mayweather.  That guy will cut angles on you so fast, you won't even know where the punches are coming from.  You got to mug him, even if all you're hitting is his arms and shoulders in the beginning.  Ricky is pretty good at that stuff, so we will see what happens.

JB: Who are you the closest to at the Miletich camp?

JP: Spencer Fisher. Josh Neer. I'm real close to Matt Hughes. Far as I'm concerned, he's family.  I'm extremely close to Tim. We've been training together a lot in the last couple of months and that has been a lot of fun.  My best friend, hands down, is Monte Cox.  That's the guy I hang out with every day.  Everyone has their own thing going on.  Me and Matt, we go way back.  I'm like his little brother.  I love Robbie Lawler. We've been friends since he was 17.

JB: Has Sam Hoger ever stolen anything from you?

JP: (Laughs) Sam Hoger is not aloud in my kitchen!

JB: It is pretty well known that you and Joe Lauzon fought before the show, but it was less publicized that you had a decision victory over Robert Emerson back in 2002.  Was there ever any awkwardness between any of you guys?

JP: I think some guys came in thinking I was going to be biased.  One of them was Matt Wyman.  It didn't dawn on me until two days into the show that he was the guy that Spencer Fisher knocked out with that flying knee.  I was talking to him and told him I had no idea and he was like, "are you serious?"  With Emerson, I hope he didn't feel that way because I beat him.  Because the truth is, I thought he was a great fighter.

JB: IBF welterweight boxing champion Kermit Cintron has expressed interest in fighting in the UFC.  He has a pretty good wrestling background as well.  Do you think Kermit Cintron could make the transition from boxing to mixed martial arts?

JP: Kermit Cintron absolutely could do it.  Speaking of him…oh my God, he was deadly in his last fight.  Jesus, that was not even funny what he did to that other guy.  Wow! He beat the hell out of that kid.  Kermit could cross over. There's probably a lot of guys that could, but you're not going to see the stars cross over because there's no reason for them to cross over. The money is better in boxing.  To make the transition though, these guys, at the very least, have to learn to sprawl and brawl.  In MMA, their opponents will time their jab and shoot in on them.  If a guy becomes great in boxing, with time, there is no reason he can't be great in MMA too.

JB: Is there anything you would like to say in closing to your fans?

JP: Yeah, I just want to say I can't thank you guys enough.  It's the fans that keep me going.  They're the reason I hold my head up.  They're the reason why I even feel like getting up in the morning some days.  I want my fans to know I read everything they send me.  I may not respond to everything, but I read it and it means a lot to me.