By Patrick McGilvray

SACRAMENTO, CA –RingSports.com WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber of Sacramento defended his world champion mixed martial arts (MMA) title against a worthy competitor in former UFC Lightweight champion Jens Pulver on Sunday night on cable’s Versus TV at Sacramento’s Arco Arena.

The 33 year old veteran Pulver appeared to be on the defensive for most of the fight with the younger and seemingly fitter 29 year old Faber. Fighting in front of an adoring sellout hometown crowd at the Arco Arena, Faber seemed eager to press his opponent in ways that many did not suspect. Known for his ground game and fierce elbows, Faber chose to stand up and exchange punches and kicks with Pulver for much of the fight.

Faber was rocked on a few occasions by Pulver’s punches, and, to his credit, Pulver absorbed many powerful punches and kicks from “The California Kid,” without losing his will to fight. But, on the overhead screens between rounds Pulver looked somewhat out of his element and the judges affirmed this appearance by handing Faber an overwhelming 45-15 unanimous victory.

Fighting at 145 lbs the two MMA warriors showed the crowd that they were there to prove their skills and earn each other’s respect. Faber took Pulver to the ground numerous times, but failed to secure a knockout or submission from the experienced Pulver. In the post-fight interview Faber thanked his supporters including his team that trains with him at his gym, www.UltimateFitness.pro

The other biggest fight of the night, and a definite crowd pleaser, was that of WEC Bantamweight champion Miguel Torres and Japan’s Yoshiro Maeda. This bought was a hard-fought victory that ended with the champion retaining his title after the fight was stopped because Maeda’s right eye was so swollen that he could not see out of it at the end of the third round.

The disappointed Maeda clearly wanted to continue fighting and protested the referee’s decision. But, Torres, showing true character, honored his opponent with a hug and walked him around the ring raising his hand. This display of sportsmanship thrilled the crowd almost as much as the arguably most spectacular moment of the entire night when the two fighters had each others’ ankles in a dual attempt at submission via an ankle lock.

The other fights at the event ended as follows:

Mark Munoz vs. Chuck Grigsby – Munoz by knockout in the first round (punches)

Rob McCullough vs. Kenneth Alexander – McCullogh via split decision
Donald Cerrone vs. Danny Castillo – Cerrone via submission in the first round (armbar)
Mike Brown vs. Jeff Curran – Brown via unanimous decision
Will Ribeiro vs. Chase Beebe – Rebeiro via split decision
Jeremy Lang vs. Tim McKenzie – McKenzie via knockout (guillotine choke)
Luis Sapo vs. Alex Serdyukov – Serdyukov via TKO after end of round 1
Jose Aldo vs. Alexandre Nogueira – Aldo via referee stoppage in second round (elbows)
Dominick Cruz vs. Charlie Valencia – Cruz via unanimous decision

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