CFFC 130's Hugh Pulley has found new purpose: 'The only thing that I care about is using my platform to glorify Christ'

'The Preacher' now has singular focus in fighting career, even as he maintains UFC dream.

Hugh Pulley admits he was angry following a pair of back-to-back losses under the CFFC banner. A failed bid for the promotion's then-vacant welterweight title one year ago was followed by a second loss by decision, and the results provided a much-needed wake-up call.

"I feel like it's been a journey from God," Pulley said. "I was angry at the Robert Hale fight because I had lost, and somebody had told me that these guys are going to be, like, sharper than what I'm usually used to, and they also said that these guys are going to the UFC, and it kind of woke me up. It was just like, man, that means that I'm close to the door, too."

Pulley said it was after that realization that he realized he needed 100 percent commitment to his career if he expected to succeed at the highest level. Lifestyle changes were made, and the results showed in the cage, notching back-to-back wins over Collin Lubberts and Bryan McDowell.

It was in that time that Pulley also realized a higher meaning for his fighting career.

"It was a little bit hard putting it together, because, you know, I was still going through, like, fear," Pulley said. "I mean, that's what I was doing it for and what I've been, except in the CFFC fights, is to get over my fear of just going out there and fighting and stuff like that, and I feel like I got over my fear of going for takedowns and going for pretty much anything that I wanted to go for in all my attacks and stuff like that, and now I feel like I'm more of a complete fighter. 

"The devil uses fear to try to hold people down. I want to be a beacon of light so that, you know, you ain't got to be afraid of nothing."

It was also in this latest stretch that Pulley changed his fighting moniker from "Wolverine" to "The Preacher." It was a switch that the welterweight veteran didn't speak about much but was very meaningful to him personally.

"I don't want to be an animal anymore," Pulley said. "I don't want to be the 'Wolverine' anymore. I want to be someone that can use my platform to lead others to Christ."

That might seem like an odd statement for someone whose job is to fight other people for a living, and Pulley admits he struggled to make sense of those dual realities, as well.

"I'm trying to be as transparent as I can, but, like, going out there and fighting and stuff, you think like, 'Oh, man, this is bad,'" Pulley explained. "But, you know, I'm not going out there to intentionally hurt anybody, right? I'm going out there to do my job and compete at the highest level, and whenever you read the Bible, you see David going out there and slaying Goliath, but he's out there doing it for the Lord. You know what I'm saying? Whenever you see Elijah raining fire down from heaven, he's always doing it for the Lord. He's defending himself. 

"I just have to embrace that sometimes God gives you the skills to do the things that you need to do, for the job that you need to have, or that's the job that you need to do, and God instills spirits in everybody. He already formed us all in the womb. He stitched us all in the womb, and I feel like he stitched me to be a warrior."

Pulley (10-6) returns to action at Friday's CFFC 130 event, which streams live on UFC FIGHT PASS from Tampa's Florida State Fairgrounds. There, he seeks his third straight victory as he takes on Blayne Richards (7-2).

"He's a game opponent," Pulley said of Richards. "He's going to come out there, and he's going to swing, and I'm going to swing these holy hands and just try to get him out of there. 

"I don't like predicting fights, but I'm going to go out there and I'm going to do my best, and I'm going to come home with that victory, man."

Ahead of the matchup, the Gracie Tampa South product has continued cross-training with Florida's famed Kill Cliff FC as of late, which he feels is helping him to round out his game. But more than anything, Pulley believes his faith is simply guiding him in the proper direction, and so he enters the contest not worried about rankings or future title shots.

Instead, Pulley says he's now fueled by a simple mission.

"I've been going through, like, a transitionary period," Pulley said. "As a fighter, it's hard to be like, 'All right, I want to go out there and fight,' and stuff like that, but there are warriors in the Bible, and I feel confident now that I can go out there and I can do these things, and all I've got to do is just pray for my enemy, you know what I'm saying? I've been trying to cope with being a follower of Jesus and going out there and fighting, and now all my coaches are believers, as well, and they've all supported me and helped me mentally, as well, to form the warrior that I needed to be. 

"I told my coach I don't care about fighting for belts anymore. God is going to lead the way, and the only thing that I care about is using my platform to glorify Christ. God is going to do the rest, so that's all that's going on in my mind, and I'm just going to go out there, and I'm going to put 100 percent into everything that I do."