On Tuesday night, September 2, MMA legend and WEC 145 pounder Jens Pulver joined hosts Brian Fritz, Dickerman, and Vito DeNucci live on Between The Ropes on ESPN Florida AM 1080 and AM 1060 to discuss his last fight against Uriah Faber, the WEC dropping their heavier divisions, how his past has effected him as a fighter, and much more.

The interview started out with some talk about Pulver's last fight against Uriah Faber. Jens said that he felt slow in the fight and that Faber was one step ahead of him the entire time. He went on to add that he's looking forward to his fight against Leonard Garcia at WEC 36 and earning a rematch with Faber somewhere down the line.

Jens then talked about what motivated him to evolve with the sport and stay relevant. "I was thrown in the frying pan from the word go…there was no real amateur time for me to get in there and learn for a couple years. I was in the deep end right off the bat fighting and trying to learn as I went."

Next Jens talked about whether his hard upbringing makes it easier for him to deal with tough losses. Jens admitted that it does help to some extent since "at the end of the day I've still got to remind myself that I'm living the dream. I'm living out something that I dreamed about doing a long time ago….At the end of the day I'll get back up and do it again."

Jens also talked about the way his past has impacted his emotions going into a fight. "I almost wish I would allow my emotions in there a little more…I end up being to lackadaisical, too calm, not enough anger, not enough fight in me…It's like I tried so hard to get away from that I've got to tell myself it's okay to go in there and be a little angry and have ill will towards this guy and put a beating on him and it's not going to make you someone like your father. It's not going to make you a bad person." Jens then said that he's brought in some people to help him with this and he now realizes that he won't be falling back into the traps that others in his family have.

The talk then turned back to Jens fight with Uriah Faber. Jens credited Uriah with being "real good at lulling me. He was real good at brining me in to follow him. He was stepping back, stepping back, then lunging forward with shots. It really kept me guessing as to when he was attacking. He didn't just circle, he did a lot of bouncing. Me, being an idiot, just kept coming forward and taking shots."

On the ratings and impact of his fight with Faber Jens said that he felt great about helping out the 145 pound division and helping the WEC put the smaller guys on the map. Jens then said that he's never going to be rich from fighting, but what he really wants is to leave a legacy and fights like the one with Faber help him do that.

Turning to his next opponent, Leonard Garcia, Jens said he was really excited when he found out who he was facing. He also mentioned that while Garcia doesn't have the longest resume he feels that Garcia is probably around the fourth best guy in the 145 pound division and a great match up coming off the Faber fight.

Thoughts on Randy:

Great to see him back, and then mentioned how excited he is to see it as a wrestling fighter.

Jens then touched on the WEC dropping their heavier weight classes. Jens "Let us build the 135s, how about we put a 125 division in there. There's plenty of little guys and we're all looking for a place to go. I'm thankful their giving us an opportunity to reach the fans and make them glad they turned on the television." Jens also said that having fewer similar weight divisions will help the WEC shed the stigma of just being a minor league to the UFC.

The interview wrapped up with Jens being asked if he feels it is more important today for a fighter to be a winner or be exciting. Jens said that while being both would be superb, being exciting is probably the more exciting of the two since if the fans and promoters don't love you they'll replace you .

To listen to the entire Jens Pulver interview, including Jens giving his thoughts on the upcoming Couture Lesnar fight, how women's MMA can continue to gain acceptance, and how B.J. Penn matured as a fighter between their two fights, as well as the entire September 2 edition of Between The Ropes in streaming audio, visit the show online at http://www.BetweenTheRopes.com. In addition to listening to this week's show you can become a site member and access hundreds of previous Between The Ropes shows and interviews. Join us for Between The Ropes for two hours every Tuesday night at 6:00pm ET on ESPN Florida AM 1080 and AM 1060 and worldwide on BetweenTheRopes.com. {plug}