Tag: Hatsu Hioki

MMA Top 10 Featherweights: Kenny Florian Moves In

Filed under: UFC, Rankings, FeatherweightsKenny Florian is the most likely next contender for the UFC featherweight championship. But has he really earned a title shot against Jose Aldo?

If the way you “earn” a title shot is to work your way up the la…

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Kenny Florian is the most likely next contender for the UFC featherweight championship. But has he really earned a title shot against Jose Aldo?

If the way you “earn” a title shot is to work your way up the ladder and become the No. 2 fighter in your weight class, then the answer is no. Florian has fought just once at 145 pounds — his unanimous decision victory over Diego Nunes at UFC 131 — and that’s not enough to get him in the No. 2 spot ahead of Chad Mendes, who’s been fighting at featherweight his entire career and built up a 10-0 record.

But the real way a fighter earns a title shot is to become the guy the fans want to see fighting for a title: The UFC is in the business of selling pay-per-views, and Florian vs. Aldo would sell far more pay-per-views than Mendes vs. Aldo. Mendes has fought in the Octagon once and isn’t all that well known, while Florian has fought in Octagon 16 times and is a fan favorite. That’s why he’ll get the next crack at Aldo.

However, that’s not to say Florian isn’t also among the elite featherweights in MMA. Find out where I have him ranked below.

(Number in parentheses is the fighter’s previous ranking.)

1. Jose Aldo (1): So far, in the UFC and WEC there hasn’t been a featherweight who has what it takes to challenge Aldo: He’s 9-0 fighting under the Zuffa banner and hasn’t been in any real trouble. We’ll see if Florian can be the man to test Aldo, but I have my doubts.

2. Chad Mendes (2): Mendes thought he had earned the next shot at Aldo, but instead he’ll take on Rani Yahya in August, and hope that a good showing there earns him a title fight after that. Mendes is only 10 fights into his MMA career and still a little green, so having to wait a little longer may be good for him.

3. Hatsu Hioki (3): Here’s hoping Hioki is able to sign with the UFC soon. The best featherweights in the world are waiting for Hioki, who has been great in Japan and whose long limbs and well-rounded striking and grappling style could make him a threat to most of the top competition in the UFC.

4. Kenny Florian (NR): Is one win at 145 pounds enough to make Florian worthy of a Top 5 ranking? I think it is, considering that the one win was a very impressive one against a good opponent, and considering that Florian was generally recognized as a Top 5 fighter in a more talented weight class when he was fighting at 155.

5. Manny Gamburyan (4): Gamburyan is trying to bounce back from his loss to Aldo in September, and he’s got a very interesting fight coming up against Tyson Griffin, who like Gamburyan and Florian is a former lightweight hoping for more success in the shallower waters of the featherweight division.

6. Marlon Sandro (6): Bellator’s featherweight division has picked up some top-notch talent, and in my opinion the best of the bunch is Sandro, who will take on fellow Brazilian Genair da Silva in the first round of Bellator’s summer featherweight tournament.

7. Mark Hominick (7): His gutsy performance in defeat against Jose Aldo endeared Hominick to MMA fans. There’s talk that Hominick could face Chan Sung Jung next, in a fight that couldn’t possibly be anything less than thrilling.

8. Erik Koch (8): Koch is 12-1 in his career, with the only loss coming against Mendes. He’s been matched up with Season 12 Ultimate Fighter winner Jonathan Brookins in September.

9. Dustin Poirier (10): Poirier has looked like a much better fighter since moving down to featherweight, dominating both Josh Grispi and Jason Young at 145 pounds. Poirier is only 22 years old and is a likely future title contender.

10. Diego Nunes (9): Although he came up short against Florian, Nunes is only 28 years old and not done improving. He has a lot of big featherweight fights ahead of him.

 

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From the ‘We Saw This One Coming a Mile Away’ File: Dana White Says Kenny Florian is Likely Up Next for a Shot at Aldo

(Video courtesy of Videobb/fightvideomma)

If you listened to The Bum Rush Radio Show this week (and we’re pretty sure at least some of you did, right mom?) you would know our collective feelings on the inevitability that Kenny Florian would be handed another undeserved title shot if he beat Diego Nunes at UFC 131. Well, according to UFC president Dana White, KenFlo “pretty much” has dibs on Jose Aldo when the champ returns from nursing a nagging shoulder injury.

When asked at the post-UFC 131 press conference if Florian’s win earned him a shot at Aldo, White answered succinctly, “More than likely. How’s that for confirmation?” before adding “I’ve got a lot of respect for him. He deserves a shot at the title. No doubt about it.”


(Video courtesy of Videobb/fightvideomma)

If you listened to The Bum Rush Radio Show this week (and we’re pretty sure at least some of you did, right mom?) you would know our collective feelings on the inevitability that Kenny Florian would be handed another undeserved title shot if he beat Diego Nunes at UFC 131. Well, according to UFC president Dana White, KenFlo “pretty much” has dibs on Jose Aldo when the champ returns from nursing a nagging shoulder injury.

When asked at the post-UFC 131 press conference if Florian’s win earned him a shot at Aldo, White answered succinctly, “More than likely. How’s that for confirmation?” before adding “I’ve got a lot of respect for him. He deserves a shot at the title. No doubt about it.”

Sure Florian’s win over Nunes was a decent one, but taking two out of three rounds doesn’t really scream “immediate title shot” to me. I’m starting to think Kenny has a photo of Dana White and Joe Silva in a compromising position with a barnyard animal or something. How else can you explain their proclivity for handing Florian title shots whenever the feeling comes to them? What about Chad Mendes? And if you’re going to just give title shots away, why not bring in Hatsu Hioki and put him against the champ or even better still, have him fight Florian to decide who deserves it more?

I seem to recall a certain UFC president stating that Florian was a choker when it came to title fights, so why give him another one before proving if he can beat a top-tier 145er. I asked Mark Hominick a few weeks ago if Florian is an opponent he’d like to face and he said he would if he got past Nunes. Problem solved.

Maybe Dana was caught up in the moment, maybe he was trying to make headlines out of footnotes from the presser, or maybe he realized the photo Florian’s camp had been holding over his and Silva’s heads for the past few years was merely a shoddily done Photoshop, but for whatever reason he was less definitive when talking to MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani a short while later.

“We’ll see what happens,” he said. “Nothing is definitive.”

Especially not the UFC’s formula for deciding its number one contenders.

UFC 131 Results: Three Fights for Kenny Florian to Take Next

Following His UFC 131 victory over Diego Nunes, Kenny Florian has gone from a fringe contender at 155, to a legit option to challenge Jose Aldo for the featherweight belt. This might be because of Florian being the most well known fighter in a relative…

Following His UFC 131 victory over Diego Nunes, Kenny Florian has gone from a fringe contender at 155, to a legit option to challenge Jose Aldo for the featherweight belt.

This might be because of Florian being the most well known fighter in a relatively new division (likely), or because there is absolutely no depth in the 145lb division (even more likely).

Whether the MMA universe likes it or not, Florian just entered the top 5 in the UFC’s weakest division, and there are only a few matchups that make sense at this point.

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Hatsu Hioki Negotiating With UFC, but Deal Isn’t Signed Yet

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia — MMA Fighting spoke to top-ranked featherweight Hatsu Hioki following the UFC 131 weigh-ins Friday afternoon about his negotiations with the UFC, when we can expect him to sign and debut with the organization, the current state of Japanese of MMA and his upcoming trip to Montreal to train at the Tristar Gym.

 

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia — MMA Fighting spoke to top-ranked featherweight Hatsu Hioki following the UFC 131 weigh-ins Friday afternoon about his negotiations with the UFC, when we can expect him to sign and debut with the organization, the current state of Japanese of MMA and his upcoming trip to Montreal to train at the Tristar Gym.

 

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Is the UFC Close to Signing Shooto and Sengoku Featherweight Champ Hatsu Hioki?

On Tuesday, the Shooto 143-pound Lightweight Champion Hatsu Hioki made waves by announcing that he was relinquishing his belt, starting rumors all over the mixed martial arts community that one of the consensus top-five featherweights in the world was …

On Tuesday, the Shooto 143-pound Lightweight Champion Hatsu Hioki made waves by announcing that he was relinquishing his belt, starting rumors all over the mixed martial arts community that one of the consensus top-five featherweights in the world was on his way to the UFC.

Along with the collapse of Sengoku, where Hioki reigns as its featherweight champion, it seems as if the path is soon to be clear for the Japanese superstar to make his way to the United States.

As per @thefightshow on Twitter,

“Hatsu Hioki will be in attendance at #UFC 131 in Vancouver on 06/11 according to @shuhirata.”

While he is still technically under contract with Sengoku, the promotion’s financial difficulties and impending doom mean his release and subsequent signing with the UFC should only be a matter of time.

There is no doubt that UFC featherweight matchmaker Sean Shelby is licking his lips at the possibility of bringing in Hioki to prop up one of the promotion’s shallower weight classes.

Hioki is a world-class fighter who has defeated the likes of Mark Hominick, Marlon Sandro and “Lion” Takeshi Inoue.

The 27-year old holds a career record of 24-4 and has lost only once in his past 14 fights, a tough split decision loss to fellow featherweight kingpin Michihiro Omigawa at Sengoku ’11.

Clearly, the UFC could use someone of his caliber to challenge its own featherweight champion, Jose Aldo, because right now there aren’t many contenders at 145 pounds.

According to Mauro Ranallo, the former Pride commentator and current voice of Strikeforce, Hioki isn’t far away from getting a shot at the UFC’s 145-pound title. When asked on Twitter where he thought Hioki stands in the current featherweight ladder and whether he would get an immediate shot at Aldo’s belt, @mauroranallo responded

“I think they want to introduce him first but he would be no more than a win over a contender away.”

Who could that contender be?

Chad Mendes, the UFC’s top guy outside Aldo as of this moment, just took a fight with Rani Yahya and so he’s booked.

Mark Hominick is on a medical suspension after his head almost exploded at the hands of Aldo during UFC 129. But since Hioki is being introduced at UFC 131, it could be that the UFC wants to set up a fight with someone competing that night, barring injury of course.

So it comes down to three names: Kenny Florian, Diego Nunes and Dustin Poirier.

Although Florian is making his 145-pound debut after competing as a middleweight, welterweight and lightweight during his UFC career, he is a recognizable name and the UFC would surely love for him to defeat the unknown Nunes and challenge Aldo for the belt.

But if Nunes wins, he’s probably next in line, and it wouldn’t make sense to give Hioki someone coming off a loss, which is why Poirier might make the most sense. He destroyed Josh Grispi at UFC 125 even though he was a heavy underdog and if he defeats Brit Jason Young at UFC 131, he needs to fight a top guy next. Cue Hioki.

Obviously, this is all speculation at this point. Hioki first needs to sign with the UFC and the two big featherweight fights at UFC 131 still need to occur first. But with Aldo recovering from a shoulder injury and getting ready for a fall return, the UFC needs to have a viable contender ready for him.

Whether it’s Florian, Nunes, Poirier, or even Hioki himself is not clear yet. What is clear, however, is that the UFC seems ready to bring in another top-ranked fighter, furthering its status as the premier mixed martial arts destination for not just North Americans, but for fighters from all around the world.

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Hioki Relinquishes Shooto Belt; Likely UFC-Bound

(Video courtesy of YouTube/EskriMMA)

Shooto featherweight champion Hatsu Hioki announced today that he has relinquished his belt and that he is moving on from the Japanese promotion in search of other challenges.

“At this time, I’ve returned the Shooto world lightweight title,” Hioki told Sherdog.com via email. “There is a pride in wearing the Shooto world title, but I think that, in the near future, I would like to challenge a new stage of pride.”

According to Sherdog, the popular 24-4-2 fighter, who holds a pair of wins over UFC featherweight contender Mark Hominick as well as one a piece over Takeshi “Lion” Inoue and Marlon Sandro, is being flown in to Vancouver, BC to attend UFC 131. I think we can all connect the dots on where he’s fighting next.


(Video courtesy of YouTube/EskriMMA)

Shooto featherweight champion Hatsu Hioki announced today that he has relinquished his belt and that he is moving on from the Japanese promotion in search of other challenges.

“At this time, I’ve returned the Shooto world lightweight title,” Hioki told Sherdog.com via email. “There is a pride in wearing the Shooto world title, but I think that, in the near future, I would like to challenge a new stage of pride.”

According to Sherdog, the popular 24-4-2 fighter, who holds a pair of wins over UFC featherweight contender Mark Hominick as well as one a piece over Takeshi “Lion” Inoue and Marlon Sandro, is being flown in to Vancouver, BC to attend UFC 131. I think we can all connect the dots on where he’s fighting next.

Unless he’s just a huge fan of Nick Ring or fellow countryman Michihiro Omigawa and we’re just reading into this all wrong, Hioki will be a welcome addition to the UFC’s somewhat vapid 145-pound class. When you scratch beneath the surface of plausible threats to champ Jose Aldo’s strap like Hominick, Chad Mendes, Josh Grispi and Dustin Poirier, there are really no other viable contenders waiting in the wings. “Shooto no Ko” will provide the division with a much needed spark.