Jens Pulver talks BJ Penn and retirement

We know Jens Pulver very well. He’s a true good guy in a sport full of questionable personalities with jock mentalities. Obviously, you know he and BJ Penn had one of the most important feuds in the history of MMA, and that’s what kickstarted and REstarted the 155 division.

Now here they are, both retired and with the beating Penn received at the hands of Frankie Edgar, he understand what BJ went through.

“What got to me watching that was, I understood,” Pulver told MMAjunkie. “It’s the hardest thing to realize when you’re in there, because in your mind you’re like, ‘I can do this.’ But once you’re in the fight, it’s like you’re not doing anything. That was the hardest part for me to watch. I was looking at him in that fight and going, ‘I get this. I know that feeling.’ Nobody told us how to get old. Nobody told us what getting old was supposed to feel like. There’s no magic switch where it all shuts off.”

“I know what he’s going through in his mind,” said Pulver. “After all the battles, he’s going, ‘Man, one more time. Let me grab somebody and knock them unconscious. Let me submit one of these kids.’ And it just doesn’t happen come fight time. I’ve been there.”

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Jason Nawara

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Jason Nawara figured out a way to make a living discussing the things he loves most in life; MMA, football and videogames. For that, he'll forever be eternally grateful. Aside from writing on the Nuts, you may have read his MMA/Videogame coverage on MiddleEasy.com, or followed him on Twitter @JasonNawara. Jason covers horror games for the massively popular Bloody-Disgusting.com, and he's a Community Manage and NFL beat writer for Topps' Huddle app. Reach out and touch him. He likes it when he's touched.