Emotional Jens Pulver reflects on his journey through a UFC Hall of Fame career and beyond

LAS VEGAS – Jens Pulver finally saw a dream come true this past Thursday.

The former UFC lightweight champion, one of the sport’s pioneers, was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. The ceremony was part of International Fight Week ahead of UFC 290 in Las Vegas.

A pioneer of the lighter weight classes, Pulver was the first lightweight (then called bantamweight) champion in the promotion’s history when he defeated Caol Uno by unanimous decision at UFC 30.

From 1999-2007, Pulver competed intermittently in the UFC and compiled a 6-2-1 record. Other notable wins in the UFC included B.J. Penn, whom he fought twice and coached Season 5 of “The Ultimate Fighter” opposite in 2007.

Outside the UFC, Pulver competed in PRIDE, WEC, One Championship, Titan FC, IFL and more. He competed in four weight classes: lightweight, featherweight, bantamweight and flyweight.

Watch Pulver’s Hall of Fame red carpet interview in the video above.