UFC

Las Vegas – UFC today announced that former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver will be inducted into the 2023 Class of the UFC Hall of Fame as a Pioneer.

His next title defense would take place on January 11, 2002, against future UFC Hall of Famer BJ Penn in the main event of UFC®35: THROWDOWN. Jens would compete 13 times across a number of MMA promotions over the next four years, most notably PRIDE and Shooto, before returning to UFC to face Joe Lauzon at UFC® 63: HUGHES vs. Pulver would vacate his title and leave UFC after this event. Pulver would lose his return bout against Lauzon and his next fight, a rematch against Penn as the main event of The Ultimate Fighter® Season 5 Finale. Jens would defeat Dennis Hallman via unanimous decision and become the first UFC lightweight champion to defend their title. This event would serve as the first UFC event sanctioned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Jens could do it all in the Octagon, and it will be an honor to induct him into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.” Jens returned to the Octagon for his fourth UFC bout against John Lewis at UFC® 28: HIGH STAKES, which took place on November 17, 2000. The 2023 UFC Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, presented by Toyo Tires, will take place during the 11th annual UFC International Fight Week this summer in Las Vegas and will be streamed live on UFC FIGHT PASS. Jens made his UFC debut as part of UFC® 22: ONLY ONE CAN BE CHAMPION, which took place on September 24, 1999, in Lake Charles, Louisiana. After the event, the division was renamed to lightweight, making Jens UFC’s first lightweight champion. The Pioneers Era category includes athletes who turned professional before November 17, 2000 (when the unified rules of mixed martial arts were adopted), are a minimum age of 35, or who have been retired for one year or more.

Jens Pulver, the first lightweight champion in UFC history, has been inducted into the pioneer wing of the promotion's Hall of Fame.

Nicknamed "Lil Evil," he went on to defend the title twice, against [Dennis Hallman](http://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/2488860/dennis-hallman) and [BJ Penn](http://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/2335629/bj-penn), in what was the peak of his career. He will become the 18th member of the UFC's pioneer wing, alongside two of his former teammates in Miletich and Hughes. [Caol Uno](http://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/2354243/caol-uno) at UFC 30 in Atlantic City.

Pulver started his mixed martial arts career in 1999, fighting twice in tournaments early in the year and picking up a win over future lightweight title ...

"No one will ever forget his knockout of John Lewis or his win over BJ Penn in their first fight, and his fight against Urijah Faber in 2008 was the biggest fight in WEC history at the time. Pulver would continue to compete in and outside of the Octagon at an incredible rate. The UFC's inaugural lightweight champion is officially Hall of Fame bound.

The crowd at the RAC Arena in Perth will certainly be amped for Australian native Volkanovski. The world featherweight champion capped his 2022 with a ...

A spinning back kick from Rodriguez misses but he lands a hard right hand to the head. I don't think a gassed Crute is going to have recovered with his legs back by the start of the second round. Now Makhachev staggers Volkanovski with a punch, dropping him to a knee. That was a round of two halves as Volkanovski took the first and Makhachev came on strong for the second. Another kick to the body followed by a compact right hand. Volkanovski connects on a left hand to the head. He's grappling Volkanovski on the ground now, trying to stretch him out, take his back fully and threaten a submission. Volkanovski pumps a jab from the back foot but Makhachev is stalking him and forward fighting with some pressure. Makhachev with a left moments later but Volkanovski advances and scores on a quick flurry. Makhachev grabs hold of a striking Volkanovski and takes him down. Volkanovski fires a few punches that land and now he takes stuffs a Makhachev takedown. Though Volkanovski would drop Makhachev a couple of times in the fight, he was never able to deliver additional, significant damage.

Makhachev won a unanimous decision with two judges scoring the fight 48-47 and the other 49-46.

Makhachev has always been touted as Khabib 2.0, but his victory at UFC 284 didn't follow the blueprint.

[Max Holloway](https://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/2614933/max-holloway) and one against [Jose Aldo](https://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/2447641/jose-aldo). Makhachev was somewhat in control for most of the way, but Volkanovski was always in the fight. From here, Makhachev will look for his next lightweight challenge, and Volkanovski will head back to featherweight, the division he has ruled since 2019. He attempted nine takedowns and landed four, getting the fight to the canvas in all but the final round. And he used clinches to control stretches of the fight while standing. Even just symbolically, having the former champ not in his corner produced a tangible indication of how dissimilar a fighter Makhachev is from his longtime training partner. He was Volkanovski's equal for five high-level rounds of trading punches and kicks. So Nurmagomedov, who since retiring as a fighter had been coaching Makhachev, stepped to the microphone right after that UFC 280 main event and picked a fight. And when Makhachev had his hand raised after earning a unanimous decision, he stood front and center under the bright lights in Perth, Australia, with a group of coaches quietly applauding him from the shadows in the background. It wasn't a matter of Nurmagomedov trying to steal the spotlight. Last month, the former champ announced he was stepping away from coaching. The future had arrived for Makhachev that night, and his friend knew there was more to come -- if they made it happen.