Yes, the time is close, for Dominick Cruz to defend his Bantamweight title against Urijah Faber on July 2 at UFC 132. In all honesty, this Bantamweight bout isn’t going to get the whole MMA world overexcited initially.Recently the UFC has co…
Yes, the time is close, for Dominick Cruz to defend his Bantamweight title against Urijah Faber on July 2 at UFC 132.
In all honesty, this Bantamweight bout isn’t going to get the whole MMA world overexcited initially.
Recently the UFC has come under heavy criticism for their lackluster main events which have failed to impress of late. The Georges St-Pierre vs. Jake Shields fight was overshadowed by some much better battles that night (Mark Hominick and Jose Aldo spring to mind). UFC 132’s main event however should prove to be a more exciting clash between Cruz and Faber.
Let’s take a look at how the fight might unfurl round by round.
After making a successful transition to the featherweight division at UFC 131, Kenny Florian has been vocal of challenging Jose Aldo for the UFC featherweight title. In addition to UFC president Dana White’s decision to choose Florian as the next …
After making a successful transition to the featherweight division at UFC 131, Kenny Florian has been vocal of challenging Jose Aldo for the UFC featherweight title.
In addition to UFC president Dana White’s decision to choose Florian as the next opponent for the Brazilian, all seems inevitable to schedule a title bout between the two competitors.
But with Aldo currently sidelined with an injury, the timeline for the bout is unknown, but the champion said he expects to return before the end of the year.
“Florian’s name and reputation in the U.S. will make this fight marketable, so I think he’ll be my next opponent, probably in October,” Aldo told Brazilian television program, “Sensei SporTV” courtesy of Sherdog.com.
Aldo also commented on Florian’s newly appointed status as the division’s No.1 contender, and said he expects a tough fight from his future opponent.
Due to three scheduled events in October, a title bout involving Aldo and Florian could be featured on any three of the upcoming cards, including UFC 136, an untitled UFC event in Liverpool, England on Oct. 15 and UFC 137.
Finalizing on one of the three options would confirm a date and location for the bout, adding onto an already anticipated fourth quarter of 2011.
At UFC 131, Kenny Florian made a successful debut in the featherweight division against Diego Nunes, that saw the Boston native pick up the win via unanimous decision. And although Florian explained that his move to featherweight was only temporar…
At UFC 131, Kenny Florian made a successful debut in the featherweight division against Diego Nunes, that saw the Boston native pick up the win via unanimous decision.
And although Florian explained that his move to featherweight was only temporary, he mentioned in his post-fight interview that he plans to face Jose Aldo for the featherweight title sometime this year. Thus, making his temporary move seem like an afterthought.
“I think Jose Aldo is one of the best fighters in the game, and I have a lot of respect for him. He’s the best, and that’s what I want.”
The drop to featherweight is the fourth division Florian has competed in throughout his career, and he underwent a difficult training camp that saw him trim off extra fat to make 145 pounds.
One must wonder how much more demanding it is on one’s body to lose weight, especially when a fighter attempts to go below their natural weight.
But for Florian, the move to featherweight has made him stronger, physically and mentally.
“I think honestly this whole weight cut and going down, it was a true test of discipline, and I think it took me to the next level as far as mentally and what I’m capable of doing,” he said.
“After doing that, I think anything is easy.”
While it is unknown as to when Aldo is expected to return to the Octagon, UFC president Dana White announced at the UFC 131 post-fight press conference that Florian is likely the next challenger for the Brazilian’s title.
And after competing in multiple divisions beforehand, it seems as if Florian has finally found a permanent home at 145 lbs and is committed to competing as a featherweight in the UFC.
Saturday night, at UFC 131’s post-fight press conference, Dana White said Kenny Florian had a good chance of getting the next shot at UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo. According to Fighters Only Magazine, Aldo believes Florian will be next. &…
Saturday night, at UFC 131’s post-fight press conference, Dana White said Kenny Florian had a good chance of getting the next shot at UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo.
“This is my expectation. No doubt I think this is going to be a tough confrontation. Because the name Florian holds in US, I guess this will be a marketable fight so I think he is the next opponent of mine,” Aldo said.
Aldo is coming off of a successful title defense against Mark Hominick. Aldo was set up to meet Chad Mendes next, but, due to injuries, was sidelined for a later-than-anticipated date.
Mendes chose to take an earlier fight instead of waiting it out.
Florian, who is fighting in his fourth weight class, had a successful featherweight debut against Aldo’s teammate, Deigo Nunes.
Although nothing has been announced or made official, Aldo believes the fight will take place towards the end of the year.
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…
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.
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.
