Perennial contender Kenny Florian has become the biggest logjam in the UFC.
Beginning his UFC career after his season one stint on The Ultimate Fighter, Florian became an early contender to the lightweight title once the organization reinstated the division.
Florian battled Sean Sherk for the vacant title, dropping a one-sided victory to the wrestler. So long as Florian is not in championship tilts, he looks every bit the world beater that he is.
Following the loss to Sherk, Florian reinvented himself into a legitimate threat to all comers. The TUF veteran rattled off an impressive, six-fight win streak in the division over the likes of Din Thomas, Roger Huerta, and former title challenger Joe Stevenson, among others.
During the impressive stretch, Florian bested all but Huerta before the final bell, which made his bout with then-champion BJ Penn all the more intriguing. However, Florian choked at the opportunity to claim the belt and submitted in the fourth round to “The Prodigy”.
A subsequent loss to Gray Maynard in a No. 1 contenders bout ousted him from the division, to which Florian responded by dropping down to the featherweight class.
A victory over Diego Nunes earned Florian his third title shot against current pound-for-pound great Jose Aldo. But after a successful first round, in which Florian managed to bring the Brazilian to the mat, Aldo took over and walked away with a decisive victory.
0-3 in championship tilts left Florian in a flux. Knowing that he may never challenge for another world title, Florian wrestled with the idea of retirement before opting to return to the lightweight division instead.
Because of all the accolades he’s cultivated in his career, a win over Florian means something, even though the 35-year-old has failed to earn recognition as a champion, to which he’s responded by saying, “Not everybody can be a champion.”
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