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.
The UFC makes its way back to the True North this Saturday as UFC 131 takes place live from Vancouver, British Columbia. The card will be headlined by two of MMA’s most dangerous strikers, Junior dos Santos and Shane Carwin. It will also feature …
The UFC makes its way back to the True North this Saturday as UFC 131 takes place live from Vancouver, British Columbia.
The card will be headlined by two of MMA’s most dangerous strikers, Junior dos Santos and Shane Carwin. It will also feature Kenny Florien making his featherweight debut against Diego Nunes.
Originally the card was supposed to feature former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar. Lesnar was forced to pull out due to another bout with diverticulitis.
Despite the loss of Lesnar, expect the card to be an exciting show. Here are my predictions for submission, KO and fight of the night.
(Photographic proof of how the UFC contributed to Aldo’s injury. That’s a slam dunk insurance claim right there.)
With the UFC featherweight title picture out of focus until champ Jose Aldo heals from a nagging shoulder injury, a question that was recently brought up was what happens if Diego Nunes beats Kenny Florian Saturday night at UFC 131? Surely, he won’t fight a teammate, since that’s a faux pas in Brazil, right?
Think again.
According to Aldo’s longtime trainer and Nova Uniao founder Andre Pederneiras, “Everyone from Nova Uniao knows that if they have to fight against each other, they will.”
(Photographic proof of how the UFC contributed to Aldo’s injury. That’s a slam dunk insurance claim right there.)
With the UFC featherweight title picture out of focus until champ Jose Aldo heals from a nagging shoulder injury, a question that was recently brought up was what happens if Diego Nunes beats Kenny Florian Saturday night at UFC 131? Surely, he won’t fight a teammate, since that’s a faux pas in Brazil, right?
Think again.
According to Aldo’s longtime trainer and Nova Uniao founder Andre Pederneiras, “Everyone from Nova Uniao knows that if they have to fight against each other, they will.”
It’s no secret that the UFC has given Florian his fair share of title shots and that his recent move to 145 was likely prompted by a promise of a future crack at UFC featherweight gold, but Aldo says he shouldn’t sleep on an undefeated prospect like Nunes.
“I believe Diego will defeat Kenny Florian,” Aldo told Sherdog recently. “Diego is well-prepared. He has ‘blood in his eyes’ for that fight and he’s ready to reach the top of the division. He has enough talent to fight for the title.”
As far as facing Nunes in the future if he still holds the strap, Aldo says it’s a possibility if the UFC makes it worth their while.
“If that [title fight] happens with us, we’ll sit and talk to see how we deal with that,” Aldo explains. “I don’t know if I would fight him. It depends more on our agents and on [Nova Uniao leader] Andre Pederneiras. If the UFC wants to see that, they’ll have to pay real good money.”
The fighter who has next dibs on Aldo could miss out on the opportunity if he loses the bout he took in the meantime against submission wiz Rani Yahya.
Not satisfied with sitting on the sidelines waiting for Aldo to heal up, Chad Mendes chose instead to face Yahya at UFC 133 in August. Although his recent 1-2 skid doesn’t show it, Yahya is a dangerous fighter having beaten the likes of Mike Brown, Mark Hominick and Eddie Wineland.
Aldo says he isn’t exactly sure why Mendes took the high-risk fight, but noted he’s rooting for his fellow countryman in Philadelphia.
“I don’t know exactly what Chad’s thing was. He was set to be my next challenger, and I understand his decision not to wait for me. We didn’t sign anything, so he was free,” explained Aldo. “I believe it will be a huge fight, but as a Brazilian, I will cheer for Rani.”
After aggravating the lingering shoulder injury in training, Aldo took the advice of his doctor who told him that rest would be the best medicine for the wonky joint and has stayed out of the gym. He anticipates a return to training in the next two to three weeks.
“My recovery is going great,” Aldo affirmed. “I haven’t done anything but physical therapy for the last four weeks and I’m really looking forward to training again. I miss it a lot. Next week, my doctors and physiotherapists will talk to me and probably release me. Obviously I won’t return at 100 percent. I’ll maybe need around two more weeks to be completely recovered and training hard.”
While most of the hype around UFC 131 is centered on the main event between Junior Dos Santos and Shane Carwin, there is another fighter who is likely a win away from a title shot this Sunday. Kenny Florian is making his featherweight debut against Die…
While most of the hype around UFC 131 is centered on the main event between Junior Dos Santos and Shane Carwin, there is another fighter who is likely a win away from a title shot this Sunday.
Kenny Florian is making his featherweight debut against Diego Nunes this weekend, and due to fortunate circumstances and marketability alone, he’ll likely get a title shot with a win.
But does he deserve it?
Florian has already gotten two shots at UFC gold and came up short both times, getting dominated by Sean Sherk and looking sluggish before being submitted by BJ Penn back at UFC 101.
Florian worked his way back into the title picture by August of last year, but was controlled by Gray Maynard at UFC 118, losing a shot at the title in front of his hometown crowd.
After the loss to Maynard, Florian decided to make the cut to 145.
Due to Chad Mendes passing on a title shot with Jose Aldo in favor of staying active and fighting Rani Yahya in August, there is no clear contender for the featherweight belt when Aldo returns, which is likely to happen in the Fall.
With the most recognizable name in the division and the ability to finish a fight both standing and on the feet, Florian is an attractive option for the UFC to throw into the fire against Aldo.
While Mendes is clearly the second-best guy at 145, and Florian will own just one win in the division if he beats Nunes, he still might be the most qualified fighter available to fight Aldo this fall.
It’s been a long time since we first saw Massachusetts native Kenny “KenFlo” Florian competing for a roster spot on season one of The Ultimate Fighter. Florian competed at middleweight on the show, defeating Chris Leben on h…
It’s been a long time since we first saw Massachusetts native Kenny “KenFlo” Florian competing for a roster spot on season one of The Ultimate Fighter. Florian competed at middleweight on the show, defeating Chris Leben on his path to the finals, where he lost in the finale to Diego Sanchez.
Following his stint on TUF as a middleweight, Florian has since competed at welterweight, lightweight and now featherweight. The most amazing aspect of his multiple changes in weight is that Florian has been successful at every level, picking up wins against top competition such as Sam Stout, Joe Lauzon, Roger Huerta, Joe Stevenson, Clay Guida and Takanori Gomi.
Florian had his most success at 155 pounds, where he fought in two lightweight championship matches as the challenger. Florian earned his first shot as he faced off against Sean Sherk, losing by unanimous decision. That setback seemed to only make Florian hungrier, as he proceeded to go on a six-fight win streak, finishing five of those six bouts before the final bell sounded. With all of that momentum, he gained a second chance at the lightweight title, which was now defended by lightweight legend BJ Penn. Penn went on to dominate Florian throughout the fight, out-striking Florian and stuffing his take-downs until Penn locked in a rear naked choke in Round 4 to again deny Florian of the championship.
Florian has now set his sights on the 145-pound featherweight division where top-five pound-for-pound fighter Jose Aldo reigns supreme. Florian stated that he has wanted to fight the exciting Aldo and decided to move down in weight just to have the chance at him. In order to get his chance, he has to get past a very tough Diego Nunes at UFC 131 at the Rodgers Center in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Nunes is a top-10 world ranked featherweight that has an MMA record of 16-1 but has went to decision in his last six fights while posting a 5-1 record. Florian will be his toughest fight to date and should propel the winning fighter into a title match with Jose Aldo.
This could be the division that “KenFlo” could finally capture the UFC championship that has eluded him for so long. The reason being is that the Achilles heel of Florian has been opponents with solid wrestling games and take-down defense. Florian has come up short against Diego Sanchez, BJ Penn, Sean Sherk and Gray Maynard during his tenure with the UFC. Neither Nunes or Aldo is known for wrestling, which might enable Florian to get the fight to the mat where he can utilize one of the best ground games in MMA. In addition to that, he will be a very tall and large featherweight, which will only help his striking and ground games with a reach advantage he will possess against most opponents in that weight class.
In order to make his dreams become reality, Florian has hit the gym hard as he is trying to bolster up his strength. Seeing it as his biggest weakness, he worked with George Lockhart on his diet to maximize his performance inside and outside the gym. He again teamed up with Jonathan Chaimberg, owner of Adrenaline Performance Center, located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada to work on his strength and conditioning.
Florian should be a force at 145, as he will be an extremely big featherweight. His coaches have said that his strength has greatly improved, his speed is up and his cardio still remains as good as ever. With the addition of strength, Florian’s game should be one of the best in MMA, as he is also one of the most technical and experienced fighters when competing inside the Octagon.
With all of those traits combined, at 35 years of age, this could be the best version of Kenny Florian to date, as he attempts to earn a third shot at a UFC championship.
Good night Vienna (or Vie-mma). Apologies, I’m a sucker for wordplay
There is something eminently enchanting about the combat sport phenomenon that is the much-vaunted knockout. It is a wonder to behold, a sight to savour. It carries with it…
Good night Vienna (or Vie-mma). Apologies, I’m a sucker for wordplay
There is something eminently enchanting about the combat sport phenomenon that is the much-vaunted knockout. It is a wonder to behold, a sight to savour. It carries with it an undisputable finality which a decision win, TKO and submission simply do not.
With a decision, fighters and fans alike are left to subjectively determine whether the bout has been adjudicated accurately and consequently whether the correct combatant has prevailed.
With a TKO, a fighter may fervently contend that the referee had prematurely intervened, that he was still sufficiently compos mentis to continue.
With a submission, the fighter is invariably—unless the casualty has been rendered unconscious via choke, or a victim’s limb has been snapped—capable of regaining his feet unaided, furiously shaking his head at having been caught in a submission hold that he has probably drilled eschewing or escaping one thousand times over during training camp.
However, when a mixed martial artist has disconnected a fellow fighter from consciousness, there remain very few questions that need to be addressed. It is indeed the most conclusive conclusion to an octagon battle, with the unfortunate fighter ordinarily necessitating a period of time to regain his faculties and wits.
Whilst far from constituting a damp squid, such contests just leave one craving a tad more action, the fireworks having precipitately been set off. In the blink of an eye, and before Goldie can even utter “it is all over”, it is actually all over. Mauro Ranallo perfectly encapsulates the situation “this one is over before it even begins”.
And some fighters may even lament their lack of cage time, especially newcomers like Duffee, or those having returned from a prolonged injury layoff, having essentially trained intensively between 8 to 12 weeks for a transient moment lasting literally a number of seconds. Milliseconds are actually required to distinguish between some of the top ten KOs of all-time, though it’s probably the easiest paycheque these fighters will ever earn. In no other sport (aside from other combat sports including boxing) may a victor be determined so quickly.
So enjoy the slideshow, don’t dare blink, and knock yourself out (don’t take me literally of course).
