by David McKinney
When I heard that there was a documentary featuring Jens Pulver being made, I was one of the first to claim that it was long overdue. Jens is the type of guy who can talk for hours, perfectly able to articulate exactly what he is thinking at any given moment.
One thing I have to mention is the talent and passion of director/producer Gregory Bayne of Lovelymachine. Bayne saw in Jens a story that needed to be told, and he did so in a way that respects Jens, the sport, and his family.
A powerhouse while in his prime, Pulver became the first-ever UFC lightweight champion - fitting because he was the pioneer of the division for the smaller guys. Pulver went on to defend his title twice - including a legendary fight at UFC 35 against B.J. Penn - before a contract dispute with the UFC forced him out of the organization.
Pulver bounced around for the next two years fighting all over the world, until he found a new home in PRIDE's "Bushido" series, the home of the organization's lighter weight fighters. Eventually, Pulver made his return to the UFC in 2006, but a knockout at the hands of Joe Lauzon again left his future in question.
Instead of once again forcing him out, the UFC decided to give Jens a coaching job on "The Ultimate Fighter 5," the first series to feature lightweight fighters. Opposing Pulver as coach and then as a foe in the cage would be B.J. Penn, who was hell-bent on avenging his first career loss from five years earlier.
Penn ultimately won the fight, but it was two members of Team Pulver - Nate Diaz and Manny Gamburyan - who faced off in the series finale. Jens realized that he loved coaching, and eventually decided to open a gym in his adopted home of Boise, Idaho.
After the fight with Penn, Pulver decided to drop from lightweight to featherweight, a move that brought much attention to UFC-owned World Extreme Cagefighting and its lighter weight classes. Once again, Jens was paving the way for the smaller guys - which in a way is the story of his life.
Jens choked out veteran fighter Cub Swanson in just 35 seconds in his WEC debut, and a matchup with featherweight champion Urijah Faber was immediately set up. WEC 34, which had 1.5 million viewers and still holds that record for the organization, featured an exciting five-round battle between Faber and Pulver, and Faber earned the unanimous decision.
Pulver went on to lose three more times heading into WEC 47 on March 6, 2010, where he faced Javier Vazquez. Driven features the lead-up to that fight.
That first thing that is evident about Driven is that it is not about the fight. Although the documentary profiles Jens on his "last march" into his final WEC bout with Javier Vazquez, the story is about Jens himself.
Powerful moments exist when Pulver is talking about his father, who beat him, his mother, and two brothers throughout most of his childhood. Especially emotional is a scene in which Jens explains why he hates his dad - not because of all of the punches, but because he robbed him of the opportunity to know what it is like to have a healthy relationship with his dad.
It is evident throughout the movie that Jens has a lot of anger inside him, anger that he realizes that could have turned him to the dark side like his brother, who is serving 55 years in prison. Instead of acting on his anger, Jens turns the hate that he has for his dad into an undying love for his son, Karson. Already a budding fighter himself, 2-year-old Karson is shown throughout the movie emulating the training that he sees in Jens' gym.
Jens talks in the movie about going to wrestling tournaments with his mom and brothers, and how it was his only out from daily beatings and the mental abuse of his father. Wrestling really did save his life, but mixed martial arts was a sport made for him.
What you can see in Jens throughout the movie is his passion. What ever he does, he does it 100 percent. You get the feeling that if he had decided to be a truck driver that he'd push himself to be the best damn truck driver that he could be.
Pulver is a man who realizes how lucky he is - one of the most popular fighters in the sport who sees himself as just a regular man trying to pay his bills and take care of his family.
It's tough to make it through the documentary without choking up at least once, a testament to just how real Jens himself is. This isn't some made up story about how tough his life is - it's a real chronicle of a normal man who used sports to give himself a reason to wake up in the morning. Becoming one of the best fighters in the world was just a product - of his will, his passion, and his drive.
Rating: 10 out of 10
For more on Jens Pulver, Driven, Gregory Bayne, or Lovelymachine, visit www.jenspulverdriven.com.
