Desperate for a victory, Jens Pulver couldn't survive the vaunted ground game of Javier Vazquez, who vanquished the former UFC lightweight champion with a first-round arm bar submission win.It was the fifth consecutive loss for the MMA pioneer Pulver, who fell to 22-13-1. Afterward, Pulver said his career was likely over.
"I love you all way, way, way too much to put you all through this again," Pulver said in addressing the crowd after the fight. He also thanked his son, wife and mother for supporting him throughout his storied career.
Pulver flirted with disaster for most of the short fight, which predominantly took place on the mat. Vazquez, a longtime jiu-jitsu black belt, took Pulver down just 30 seconds into the fight. Pulver survived that with a guillotine attempt that put Vazquez on the defensive. But just moments later, the two were back on the mat.
Pulver escaped a pair of bad situations, including a possible rear naked choke, but Vazquez eventually isolated his arm and sunk in an arm bar that forced Pulver to tap out.
Afterward, even Vazquez was sad about the possible end for Pulver.
"I would've been in his corner too," said Vazquez (14-4). "I'm as big a fan of him as everyone else. It's an honor to fight him. You will never hear me say a bad thing about him."
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