UFC 136 will take place live from Houston tomorrow night.
While a lot of tomorrow night’s focus will be on the second title fight of the night between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, there is one fighter who has even more at stake.
Kenny Florian (15-5) will challenge Jose Aldo for the featherweight championship in the co-main event.
Over the years, Florian been one of the best fighters in the UFC. When it comes to a major fight though, Florian has been looked at as one of MMA’s biggest chokes.
In the middleweight final of Ultimate Fighter Season 1, Florian lost to Diego Sanchez.
Following the loss, Florian would go on to drop to welterweight, then lightweight, winning three straight.
The winning streak put Florian in position to fight for the vacant UFC lightweight title.
At UFC 64, Florian faced former welterweight contender Sean Sherk for the lightweight title. Sherk outwrestled Florian to earn a unanimous decision victory.
Florian would go on to win his next six fights, five of which ended by submission or knockout.
The winning streak made him the top contender once again. This time around, Florian would have to face a man he claimed he looked up to, BJ Penn.
During the UFC 101 main event, Florian repeatedly tried to take Penn down, but was unable to. In the fourth round, Penn was able to take Florian down and eventually submit him with a rear-naked choke.
Florian had once again climbed his way to the top of the division only to lose in the biggest fight of his career.
After wins against Clay Guida and Takanori Gomi, Florian found himself fighting in a No. 1 contender’s match against Maynard.
The fight had a special meaning for Florian as it was the first time the UFC had ever been in his home state of Massachusetts. Florian was once again dominated by wrestling as Maynard repeated took him to the ground and kept him there.
After the loss and a knee injury, Florian decided to change weight divisions again, this time dropping to featherweight.
At UFC 131, Florian was successful at his featherweight debut, defeating Aldo’s teammate Diego Nunes.
Florian now finds himself back in a title fight, almost five years to the date after he lost his first shot at UFC gold.
At age 35, this could be the last chance Florian gets at a title. A win would without a doubt be the defining moment of his career.
Because he has lost every big fight in his career, Florian has been called a choke. A win would not only put the featherweight title on Florian, but also lift a huge burden that has been on his shoulder for years.
Tomorrow night, Ken-Flo can make history and finally prove that he has what it takes to be a UFC champion.
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