BJ Penn and Jens Pulver II on Spike TV!

BJ Penn and Jens Pulver II on Spike TV!

Rematch of Bitter Rivals and 'The Ultimate Fighter 5' Coaches Live Saturday, June 23 at 9:00 pm

NEW YORK, June 7 /PRNewswire/ -- It has taken over five years, but on Saturday, June 23 at 9:00 pm BJ Penn finally gets his rematch. The Ultimate Fighter 5 coaches and former UFC champions, Penn (10-3-1) and Jens Pulver (21-6-1) step back into the Octagon together for a rematch more than a half a decade in the making at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, NV live on Spike TV. The main event will culminate an action-packed fight card which includes the live finale of The Ultimate Fighter 5 lightweight tournament (opponents to be announced June 14).

In January 2002, one of the UFC's fastest rising stars, unbeaten BJ Penn, met UFC lightweight champion Jens "Lil' Evil" Pulver at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut in the most highly anticipated battle in the history of the 155 lb. division. Penn, a Hawaii native, was dubbed 'The Prodigy' and had quickly moved up the UFC ranks en route to the number one contender's position. The champion, Pulver, was making his second defense of the crown which he won a year earlier in a battle with Caol Uno for the vacant title. Pulver, the UFC's first-ever lightweight champion, put his title on the line against one of the best jiu-jitsu fighters the world had ever seen and was a heavy underdog.

Pulver, famous for his combination of defensive wrestling and boxing strategy known as "sprawl and brawl," defied the odds that night, winning an unforgettable five round decision over Penn to hold on to his belt. Soon after, Pulver left the UFC due to contractual issues and Penn never got the rematch he so desperately wanted. Disappointed but not discouraged, Penn eventually moved up to the welterweight division in 2004 and scored one of the biggest upsets in MMA history when he defeated champion and future hall-of- famer Matt Hughes. It was a career-defining win, but Penn never got over the bitterness of losing to Pulver and has waited for over five years for his chance at redemption. That chance comes on June 23.

Spike TV, the first network for men, is available in 91.6 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. MTV Networks is a division of Viacom International Inc.

Source: Spike TV

CONTACT: David Schwarz, +1-212-767-8639, and Salil Gulati,
+1-212-767-8621, both of Spike TV; or Jennifer Wenk of UFC/Las Vegas,
+1-702-221-4790

Web site:

http://www.spiketv.com/

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