Pulver Talks About Leaving the Miletich Nest

Jens "Little Evil" Pulver is the latest of the original Miletich Fighting Systems crew to leave the revered gym for a different perspective.

In preparation for his fight with Leonard Garcia at WEC 36, Pulver moved to Kirkland, Washington to train with Matt Hume at AMC Pankration.

Pulver spent his early years in Maple Valley, Washington, just outside of Seattle.

Pulver described the change during a media teleconference on Tuesday for the Nov. 5 show in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

"Spencer Fisher was like you gotta go out here, you gotta do this," Pulver told reporters. "My wife, she's like, 'hit the road, you gotta go train.' It's time to get out of here."

Pulver had trained with Pat Miletich and the boys of Bettendorf, Iowa for the better part of eight years, beginning in 2000. At his apex, Pulver put the first-ever UFC lightweight championship on the Miletich mantle.

But Pulver needed a change, and hearing Fisher's glowing recommendation sealed the deal. Hume had cornered more than a few of Pulver's opponents, and Pulver was tired of always seeing him in the opposite corner

"All these years, he's always broke me down for other people," he said. "And I'm like, here, help me this time. Stop always trying to find my weaknesses. Let's switch that up.

"Rolling with him one day, it was terrible. he just broke the donkey, dude. He just killed me."

Pulver says he's back in school, learning for the first time in a long time.

"All I've got is a bedroom, time, and a place to train," he said. "That's it. It's changed everything. Matt Hume's got amateurs out here that dish me the biggest beating of my life."

Before the move, Pulver spoke to his coach about the choice.

"He had to ask me at one point, 'Are you going out to Hume?'" Pulver said. "I'm like, yeah, I need a change. Plus I haven't been home in about twelve years. He knew. It wasn't like he was my father, we're grown adults. I just needed a change."

Miletich was a father of sorts to Pulver, but eventually, kids have to leave the nest. Fellow Miletich originals Matt Hughes, and Robbie Lawler left the camp earlier this year to form their own gym, HIT Squad, in Illinois. Results have been mixed. But Pulver will certainly know whether change is good when he meets Garcia on Nov. 5.