HOUSTON — For Kenny Florian, the third time better be the charm.
The respected UFC veteran has twice before fought for a UFC title, but come up short each time. Saturday might be the 35-year-old’s last chance at a major championship.
For Florian, the opportunity comes just one fight into the move to the UFC’s featherweight division. In his 145-pound debut, Florian earned a decision over Diego Nunes, but it wasn’t a vintage performance, leading many to wonder if he can bring the goods to beat the great Jose Aldo.
Florian says that moving down was a good decision at a bad time. At the moment he decided to try his hand at featherweight, he was coming off a knee injury that had him sidelined, and he weighed around 180 pounds, his heaviest weight in years.
Getting those 35 pounds off to make the featherweight limit proved to be what he termed the “toughest thing I’ve ever done in my life, for sure.”
With only four months between that fight and this weekend’s UFC 136, Florian monitored his weight much closer, getting no higher than 168 pounds. On Thursday, one day before weigh-ins, he told MMA Fighting he was at 154.
So the weight issue is no issue.
That makes Saturday all about performance. In Aldo, Florian faces a well-rounded opponent with fast hands, excellent power and underrated grappling.
Except for the fact that Aldo is liberal with his use of kicks, he’s fairly similar to the man that Florian last faced for the title, BJ Penn.
The Penn loss proved to be a turning point for Florian. Prior to that, he spent most of his time training with his coaching staff and a series of partners, many of whom had never fought professionally.
Soon after, he began to supplement the training at his own Boston area gym with trip to Montreal to train with Firas Zahabi. That opened up a new world of training partners, from UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre to wunderkind Rory MacDonald. Under the “iron sharpens iron” philosophy, Florian believes that improved preparation will have him at his best for Aldo.
“I just think I’m doing it at the right time, where I have all the things I should have had all along during my career,” he said.” I have the best coaches, the best training partners. I think I found a good groove, a good way to train.”
Yet Florian will have to find a way to put that hard work into action on Saturday. After his UFC 118 loss to Gray Maynard, a No. 1 contenders fight that precipitated his drop to featherweight, UFC president Dana White characterized Florian’s performance in less than flattering terms. In fact, he threw out a phrase that most fighters would consider offensive.
“I think Kenny is just one of those guys who chokes in big fights,” White said then.
Not surprisingly, Florian strongly disagrees, citing his wins Roger Huerta and Joe Stevenson prior to earning his title shot against Penn, along with wins over Clay Guida and Takanori Gomi.
But White yields a big megaphone. When he says something, it usually sticks. So Florian won’t just be fighting for a belt, he’ll be fighting to try and change that perception of him.
“For the fans, and for the all the haters, the people who do say I choke in the big fights, it would be validation as well, but more than anything else, I want to go in there and beat a great opponent in Aldo,” he said.
If he can’t do it, his future will be murky. Three championship losses in two divisions may limit his options. Does he try to rebound at 145? Move back up to lightweight? Is retirement a possibility? White, at least, is on record as saying it could be Florian’s last title fight. So Florian has to make it count.
MMA will always be in his life in some way, shape or form, but UFC 136 may be his last chance to pan for gold.
“It’s a dream of mine since I committed to be a professional fighter,” he said. “That’s what everyone wants and what they should want. I’d still be the same fighter, still be the same guy. It would be some validation, really for everyone else, I guess. I know I’m a good fighter. I’ve done all the work. I’ve prepared hard. That’s the most important thing.”