THE CANADIAN PRESS
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Featherweight champion Urijah (The California Kid) Faber threw everything he had at gritty challenger Jens (Li’l Evil) Pulver en route to a five-round unanimous decision in a World Extreme Cagefighting 145-pound showdown Sunday night at the Arco Arena.
Faber showed quick, heavy hands and a deep arsenal while Pulver demonstrated resolve and an iron chin in arguably the highest-profile mixed martial arts fight ever staged by the WEC, which is owned by the UFC.
The champion pressed from the get-go and, as the bout wore on, pressed his advantage by mixing takedowns with an impressive standup game but could not put Pulver away. But their faces told the story at the end of the fight, with Pulver showing the effects of Faber’s relentless attack and Faber looking almost unmarked.
Pulver was quick to raise the champion’s arm when the final bell rang. All three judges gave all five rounds to Faber.
"There’s no give in me and that was a tough fight," Faber said. "First time I’ve ever gone five rounds and I feel like it was a good test for me and proof of things I already believed."
"He’s fast, man," said Pulver, who suffered his first losss in nine fights at 145 pounds. "He’s quick, he’s a deserved champion."
Faber (21-1), a Sacramento native with surfer dude good looks, is the glamour boy of the featherweight division, which is not used by the UFC. Pulver (22-9-1) is a hard-nosed former UFC lightweight champion who was once the face of the sport’s 155-pound weight class.
"What an honour to fight this guy," Faber said.
Pulver, wearing a mohawk with designs etched into the side of his head, came out to AC/DC’s "Thunderstruck," before inserting a red mouthpiece with Lil Evil on it. Faber, the California Kid, walked in wearing new-look cornrows to "California Love" from 2Pac featuring Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman.
Faber started swinging, getting Pulver’s attention with a series of big rights in the first round. Pulver had it rough in the early going, getting an unintentional poke in the eye in the first round and a kick to the groin in the second.
The champion switched strategy, taking Pulver down in the second round. But Pulver got back to his feet and somehow survived a huge left that staggered him. The challenger rallied with some blows of his own but Faber regained the upper hand as the round ended.
In the third, Faber threw some big elbows from on top after reversing position on the ground and the round ended with Pulver’s face showing the effects of the fight. Pulver absorbed more blows in the fourth, often acknowledging a good strike with a smile.
Pulver seemed devoid of ideas in the fifth, unable to halt Faber’s onslaught.
In other action, WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Angel Torres (34-1) was successful in his first 135-pound title defence, defeating Japan’s Yoshiro Maeda (23-5-2) on a doctor’s stoppage after three rounds. Maeda’s swollen right eye was all but closed after a thrilling, intense fight that had the fans roaring.
At 5-9, Torres had a two-inch advantage in height and eight inches in reach but Maeda proved to be an awkward foe.
Both fighters were bloodied in a scrappy first round in which Torres, cut the worst on the forehead, was the aggressor. There was plenty of gamesmanship from both fighters, urging the other in a highlight-reel second round that ended with Maeda fighting off a choke. Torres seemed to pull ahead in the third, targeting his opponent’s battered face with strikes.
"He caught me with the first shot, he busted me open but I’ve bled before. I can fight through that stuff," said Torres.
Torres’ lone loss, which he later avenged, came 16 fights ago at the hands of Ryan Ackerman in November 2003.
.(Razor) Rob McCullough, who lost his WEC lightweight title last time out in February to Jamie (The Worm) Varner, returned to the win column by downing former marine Kenneth Alexander via split decision in an uneventful fight that drew boos. McCullough (16-4) lost to Alexander (5-3 with one no contest) the first time they met in March 2002.
Two judges scored it 3-27 for McCullough while the third had it 29-28 in favour of Alexander.
"It was a close fight. I pulled it off, (I was) more aggressive in the end," McCullough said. "I just can’t wait to get that belt back."
Former Oklahoma State NCAA wrestling champion Mark Munoz (4-0) clubbed his way to a first-round KO over light-heavyweight Chuck (The Reverend) Grigsby, a former pro basketball player in Brazil and Spain, in the WEC debut for both fighters.
At six foot six, Grigsby (15-4) had a six-inch height advantage over Munoz and came in with an eight-fight win streak. But after frustrating Munoz briefly, Grigsby went down and was punished from above with Munoz launching punches from a standing position on his downed opponent. Referee Steve Mazzagatti stepped in at 4:15 after Grigsby took four straight solid shots to the face.
Donald (Cowboy) Cerrone (8-0 with one no contest) submitted Danny Castillo (5-1) via armbar 30 seconds into the first round in a battle of unbeaten lightweights.
Faber, 29, came in riding a 12-fight winning streak, with seven of those bouts not going past the first round. None made it to the third. The California Kid was also 5-0 in the WEC.
The lone blemish to his record is a September 2005 loss to a heavier Tyson Griffin. The five-foot-six Faber was rocked in that fight when his head hit an unprotected piece of metal at the bottom of the fence at Gladiator Challenge 42 in Lakeport, Calif.
The five-foot-seven Pulver is a colourful character who is 8-4-1 in Pride and the UFC.
After back-to-back UFC losses to Joe Lauzon and B.J. Penn in 2006 and 2007 — plus an appearance as a coach on "The Ultimate Fighter" reality TV show — he switched to the WEC to revive his career at 145 pounds. The 33-year-old Pulver choked out Cub Swanson in just 35 seconds in his WEC debut in December.
NOTES: The next WEC show will take place on Aug. 3 in Las Vegas and will feature three title fights. Welterweight champion Carlos Condit will headline the event at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel, while new title-holders Brian Stann and Jamie Varner will make their first defences of the light-heavyweight and lightweight belts, respectively.
