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.

Islam Makhachev (24-1-0) is still the undisputed UFC lightweight champion of the world after defeating Alexander Volkanovski (25-2-0) via unanimous decision ...

Even though Makhachev seemed to be more physically hurt, he controlled the pace through the first four rounds. 1 PFP fighter in the world and continue his 12-fight winning streak, but he couldn't finish the job. Unless they see a knocked out individual, nothing will convince them their fighter lost. [Volkanovski vs Makhachev: One of the five greatest fights in UFC history](https://www.marca.com/en/ufc/2023/02/11/63e78b0822601db5108b4599.html) - UFC. [Makhachev vs Volkanovski: First time UFC pits top two ranked fighters against each other](https://www.marca.com/en/ufc/2023/02/11/63e7a5eb22601d7c448b45de.html)

The next featherweight title is set, but who will the lightweight champ fight next? We look ahead after UFC 284.

[Gunnar Nelson](https://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/2968990/gunnar-nelson) on March 18 [Rafael Fiziev](https://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/4339488/rafael-fiziev) on March 18 [Brandon Moreno](https://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/3027545/brandon-moreno) became a two-time UFC flyweight champion at UFC 283, beating [Deiveson Figueiredo](https://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/4189320/deiveson-figueiredo). [Alexa Grasso](https://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/3136287/alexa-grasso) fighting next month for the UFC women's flyweight title against [Valentina Shevchenko](http://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/2554705/valentina-shevchenko) and [Irene Aldana](https://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/3136286/irene-aldana) likely up next for UFC women's bantamweight champ [Amanda Nunes](https://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/2516131/amanda-nunes). But one thing is for certain, Della Maddalena's star is on the rise. [Yair Rodriguez](https://www.espn.com/mma/fighter/_/id/3155420/yair-rodriguez) might be the most exciting fighter on the UFC roster, and he's been in that conversation for quite some time. The crushing victory set Perth's RAC Arena wild, as the 26-year-old absorbed every second of the admiration in front of the hometown crowd. But in this case, I think the storyline going in -- two prospects enter, one leaves -- would bring hype to both. Della Maddalena looks like a juggernaut early on, and if he continues on this path, he's going to rise very quickly. We've talked a lot about where Volkanovski is right now as a champion and a competitor, the confidence he's carrying, Rodriguez has that as well. The winner won't be guaranteed the next title shot because of the situation with Dariush, but he could jump the line if Dariush were to fall to Oliveira. And the best part is, he's kept all the things that made him so phenomenal to watch and channeled it into becoming an elite-level fighter.