Throwback podcast with UFC co-founder Art Davie and former champ Jens Pulver
It's a throwback edition of the big show as the Great MMA Debate welcomes in UFC co-creator Art Davie along with former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver for interviews today.
It was just a few weeks ago that Pulver announced his retirement from fighting after a long career that saw him win a UFC title as well as make a run in the featherweight division while being part of the WEC.
Pulver looks back on his legendary career while also explaining why this was the right time to walk away from the sport.
"It's all I've ever known," Pulver said about fighting. "I try not to get sad and I try not to think about things. It's just time."
Also on the show is UFC co-creator Art Davie, who talks about his new book "Is This Legal?", which is a retrospective on the first-ever UFC event. Davie reveals the hardships of what it took to make that first show happen while also revealing a few celebrities he was interested in landing for the debut card, including a couple of notable professional wrestlers.
Of course with those options came a lot more questions, and ultimately led Davie away from the possibility of including them in the tournament.
"If we were ever lucky enough to get a Ric Flair or a Hulk Hogan, how would the public have reacted to that?" Davis said. "Would we have looked like a work as opposed to a shoot?"
All this plus debate on the hottest topics in the sport including the recently announced fight between Anderson Silva and Nick Diaz, and reaction to Vitor Belfort's non-punishment at the hands of the Nevada State Athletic Commission after testing positive for elevated levels of testosterone this year.
Should Belfort be in a title fight? Did the commission blow it with this call? We'll answer that on the show today.
Listen here via Soundcloud or download and subscribe to the podcast via iTunes:
