FACEBOOK TWITTER RSS APP PODCAST Opinion & Analysis : Sutcliffe's Take SUTCLIFFE: Fallout from WEC 47 leaves Jens Pulver with more questions than answers

Mar 8, 2010 - 8:48:54 PM

By Steve Sutcliffe, MMATorch columnist

Saturday's WEC 47 show was yet another entertaining night of fights for an organization that constantly lives in the shadow of Zuffa's other MMA promotion. In a sport whose hallmark is unpredictability, there were more questions than answers for WEC and its core group of fighters going forward.

But the highlight of WEC 47 wasn't a devastating knockout or a sick-looking submission, although there certainly was not a lack of those, it was Jens Pulver's intensely emotional and heartfelt post-fight interview after suffering his fifth consecutive loss to Javier Vasquez.

When it comes down to it, Lil Evil has that unique and intangible ability that can never be taught in even the world's best training camps: the ability to connect with fans and be rendered even more popular after suffering a loss. For whatever reason, the fact that he came from such a troubled childhood or that he seems so genuine and so damn vulnerable in interviews, Jens Pulver legitimately moves people. Want proof? Pulver even had his opponent, Javier Vasquez, reduced to tears.

But getting MMA fans and fighters all mushy with their feelings and turning them all into the leadsinger of Dashboard Confessional doesn't exactly vault one into top contention or indefinitely prolong your shelf life as a competitor in this sport. You should probably, you know, win at some point.

Pulver's fate in the WEC, at least in terms of his fighting career, was sealed when WEC General Manager Reed Harris told MMAJunkie.com: "I would be very concerned about having him continue to fight in the WEC. There comes a point in a guy's career where he needs to look at that, and I'd like to see Jens continue to be involved in the sport. But I think maybe he needs to consider not fighting again."

Which leads us to the million dollar question: What does the future hold for Jens Pulver?

WEC would undoubtedly offer some sort of non-competing role outside the octagon to Lil Evil, perhaps as a commentator which Pulver has done in the past, or some sort of ambassador/public figure position.

But not surprsingly, fighting is what pays the bills if you are a fighter, despite Pulver stating in his first post-fight interview that he doesn't get paid a whole lot of money to step into the cage. And even though Pulver admitted that he doesn't want put the fans through another heartbreaking defeat, if the past is any indication of the future, stepping away from this sport is always easier said then done.

Look at Mickey Rourke's character in the movie "The Wrestler." Retirement is a word that's often thrown around but infrequently adhered to, especially when it's often preceded by the words "coming back out of." And it carries even less weight since Pulver himself has already retired.

If Pulver cannot shake the urge the fight, it's quite clear that Lil Evil will have to sever his ties with WEC and Zuffa and most likely try to wind up in Strikeforce, which is not exactly known for having the most competitive featherweight division. But is that worth ending a relationship with Dana White, who could potentially offer a position to Pulver for life, much like he has alluded to when discussing how Stephan Bonnar and Wanderlei Silva will be employed by UFC forever, no matter how many times they could lose?

Even if Pulver does take a long, good hard look in the mirror and decides to fight despite the prospects of yet another disappointing loss, what long-term value does Pulver really have? After the most recent loss to Vasquez, are audiences willing to emotionally invest themselves one more time, let alone multiple times, in Lil' Evil? How many more times can a person sit through a post-fight interview with Pulver breaking down and say to themselves, "Enough is enough already."

Everyone likes a good underdog story, but the underdog eventually either decides to finally hang it up or wins. And if Pulver does win, does anyone legitimately believe he can be come anywhere close to representing the true upper echelon of the division at this point in his career?

At this point, all talk of Pulver's future is little more than speculation and the only person that can shed light on it is Pulver himself. The mere fact that there's such much talk about a guy with five straight losses brings us to one thing that surely is not speculation: people love Jens Pulver. And even a million straight losses won't change that.

===

Steve Sutcliffe oftentimes thinks the WEC is completely overlooked in favor of its more popular, bigger brother. Share your thoughts at steve.w.sutcliffe@gmail.com.

[Jens Pulver photo by Wade Keller (c) MMATorch]

ALERT: Every Tuesday night, listen to the MMATorch Livecast from 9-10:30 p.m. ET or listen now to the most recent shows by clicking here. Listen live this coming Tuesday as Jamie Penick, Rich Hansen, and Matt Pelkey discuss the latest MMA happenings. Online listen at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mmatorch or call into the show at 646-716-8090 to either just listen or participate.