Mixed Martial Arts is unpredictable to where sometimes the most unfathomable of events can become a reality, but some people forget that anything and everything can and will happen in this sport.
Maybe we’re convinced that fights are going to go a certain way, maybe we just like one guy more than the other, and maybe we’re just going by the name recognition when we pick, but for some reason, we sometimes find ourselves judging certain fights before they happen.
Case in point: Kenny “KenFlo” Florian’s UFC 131 Featherweight bout against Diego “The Gun” Nunes.
Florian is not the Jaime Jara of the lighter weights–he’s not the first (and so far, only) man in MMA history to have won titles in four divisions, nor does he have any sick tattoos or the Stone Cold Steve Austin-like stare in his eyes or a reputation in Gladiator Challenge.
Florian is merely the first person in the UFC to have fought in four divisions, and all to get his hands on one UFC title.
Perhaps that’s the reason why he’s such a heavy favorite to not only defeat, but make convincingly short work of Nunes–because many feel his Jiu-Jitsu, Boxing, and Muay Thai will look its best at the Featherweight level.
However, what if Diego Nunes not only wins against Florian, but beats him decisively?
Does a win put him in the upper echelon, or anywhere close to the top of the heap at 145 pounds?
Well, perhaps, but Florian is untested at 145 and a win may not affect his position, but it could alter Nunes’ rank simply because it’s Florian.
What it does mean is that while Nunes might be perceived as untested, it also means that Nunes has been tested against a qualified fighter–qualified in the sense of his ability to put Nunes in legitimate danger.
Florian is untested at 145, but as an overall fighter, Florian is no joke.
He’s a TUF 1 veteran who has fought at 185, 170, 155, and now 145–and he has proven himself to be a legitimate threat at the Welterweight and Lightweight level despite never winning the belt in either of the two divisions.
He will look to achieve the same success against Nunes, but what if he can’t even get by his divisional debut?
It’s possible that, whether we admit it or not, Florian may suffer an upset loss come UFC 131 this Saturday.
This fight is supposed to welcome Florian into the 145-pound division and eventually set up a showdown with Jose Aldo, but when it comes to this fight, we could be looking at something that is a full 10,000 miles from a title fight with Aldo.
If Diego Nunes beats Kenny Florian this Saturday, it’s possible that Nunes will have completely derailed the Kenny Florian hype train and made it clear that he is the future of not only the UFC’s Featherweight class, but the future of MMA’s Featherweight scene as a whole.
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