After taking a shot at the UFC featherweight title, Kenny Florian (14-6) is headed back to lightweight after just two matches at 145 lbs.
Florian dropped to bantamweight after losing a No. 1 contenders bout at lightweight to Gray Maynard at UFC 118 in August of 2010. It would be a full nine-months before Florian would debut at 145 lbs, facing Diego Nunes at UFC 131 last June. Florian would earn a decisive unanimous decision victory earning him a shot at the UFC bantamweight title.
Florian was given his shot earlier this month at UFC 136 against champ Jose Aldo. Despite his best efforts, UFC gold was again out of ‘Ken-Flo’s’ reach, losing a unanimous decision to Aldo in the end.
With that loss, the Massachusetts fighter took some time to figure out his next move, telling The Boston Herald that he was moving back to 155 lbs.
“I still love this sport tremendously and still want to be a part of it. I know myself, and it’s not even just being competitive, but it’s just being there, learning and competing. There’s still very much a fire burning there so I’m going to do it…”
“I didn’t get in this to be second-best, of course. But at the same time, not everybody can be a champion,” Florian said. “I’m just going to go back to 155, work my way up, take it one fight at a time and see where it puts me.
“I think there’s exciting fights out there for me, there’s still challenges out there for me, there’s still things I’d like to try to improve on and that’s the main thing. I don’t necessarily have the title in my eyes, but I do have my own personal goals as far as the technical level that I want to get to.”