Last night following the TUF Live Finale weigh-ins at the Pearl Theater at The Palms in Las Vegas, seven-year UFC veteran Kenny Florian announced his retirement from the sport. The affable fan-favorite had compiled a 12-5 record in the Octagon with seven of his wins by rear-naked choke, and was the only fighter in UFC history to compete in four weight classes, starting with his entry as a middleweight on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter. His greatest success came as a lightweight, where he spent the majority of his career, scoring victories over top competition like Joe Lauzon, Roger Huerta, Joe Stevenson, Clay Guida, and Takanori Gomi, and competing for the lightweight title twice. Most recently, he made a run at the featherweight belt, losing a unanimous decision to Jose Aldo at UFC 136. Here’s how he explained his decision to walk away:
“I’ve dealt with injuries in the past, and back in November I was back into training and hurt my back working out, and it just hasn’t quite been the same. Been dealing with it, been trying to get back and doing rehab and things like that, and a few weeks ago I kind of re-injured it again. So it’s been tough, man, I haven’t been able to train, and I’ve always been that person, I don’t want to do anything half-assed. If I’m going to train for a fight, if I’m going to train doing what I’m doing, I want to be able to do it 100%, and if I’m not able to do those things, I can’t really do it. So it’s been several months, it’s been very, very hard. Your identity becomes what you do, and it’s been tough.”
Last night following the TUF Live Finale weigh-ins at the Pearl Theater at The Palms in Las Vegas, seven-year UFC veteran Kenny Florian announced his retirement from the sport. The affable fan-favorite had compiled a 12-5 record in the Octagon with seven of his wins by rear-naked choke, and was the only fighter in UFC history to compete in four weight classes, starting with his entry as a middleweight on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter. His greatest success came as a lightweight, where he spent the majority of his career, scoring victories over top competition like Joe Lauzon, Roger Huerta, Joe Stevenson, Clay Guida, and Takanori Gomi, and competing for the lightweight title twice. Most recently, he made a run at the featherweight belt, losing a unanimous decision to Jose Aldo at UFC 136. Here’s how he explained his decision to walk away:
“I’ve dealt with injuries in the past, and back in November I was back into training and hurt my back working out, and it just hasn’t quite been the same. Been dealing with it, been trying to get back and doing rehab and things like that, and a few weeks ago I kind of re-injured it again. So it’s been tough, man, I haven’t been able to train, and I’ve always been that person, I don’t want to do anything half-assed. If I’m going to train for a fight, if I’m going to train doing what I’m doing, I want to be able to do it 100%, and if I’m not able to do those things, I can’t really do it. So it’s been several months, it’s been very, very hard. Your identity becomes what you do, and it’s been tough.”
Florian will continue to pursue a broadcasting career, including commentary work for UFC events on FUEL and FOX. He’ll also be opening a gym in the L.A. area in soon, and even mentioned starting a blog as one of the interests he’ll pursue in the future. (Which makes him a direct competitor now. You just made the biggest mistake of your life, buddy.)
Send Kenny some love on twitter @kennyflorian, and honor his memory by splitting somebody’s face open with razor-sharp hellbows. Below: Our favorite Ken-Flo highlight reel ever, which happens to be a joint highlight-reel with Frank Shamrock, but it’s still amazing.
It was over seven years ago that UFC fans were first introduced to Kenny Florian on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter, and after nearly 20 UFC bouts, it’s time to say goodbye to Ken-Flo. As far as résumés go, it’s t…
It was over seven years ago that UFC fans were first introduced to Kenny Florian on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter, and after nearly 20 UFC bouts, it’s time to say goodbye to Ken-Flo.
As far as résumés go, it’s tough to argue against Florian being one of the most successful fighters in UFC history. And despite his inability to earn a UFC title during his run with the company, he has done more than enough as a fighter and ambassador to earn a spot in the UFC Hall of Fame.
As a fighter, there were few that could match the excitement of a Florian bout. Despite making his name as a Brazilian Ju Jitsu black belt, Florian quickly became one of the premier strikers in the lightweight division, and was often able to use his superior stand-up to set up his nasty submission game.
Submissions may end up being Florian’s legacy, as he will retire with the second most stoppages by submission in UFC history with nine, behind only the legendary Royce Gracie’s 11 wins by tap out.
Although his career was largely a success, a UFC belt alluded Florian for his entire career despite getting four separate chances to acquire gold.
Florian’s lack of a UFC title reign is going to be the glaring weakness on his résumé, but other elite stars like Dan Marino, Charles Barkley and Karl Malone have all been enshrined in their respective sport’s Hall of Fame in recent years, and there is no reason Florian should be any different.
His accomplishments inside the cage are enough to warrant a Hall of Fame birth by themselves, but if you look at what Florian has done for the sport outside of the cage, it becomes even more clear that he is one of the most worthy fighters to receive such an honor.
Unlike the Chuck Liddell’s and Wanderlei Silva’s of the sport—who perfectly fit the world’s stereotype of a fighter—Florian looked like an everyday guy and was a fighter that many new fans could instantly relate with. The benefits of having a guy like Florian were endless for the UFC, and the fact that he wasn’t a naturally gifted fighter only furthered Florian’s “everyday guy” mystique.
While this is the end of Florian’s career as a fighter, his time with the UFC is far from over.
His new job as a color commentator for the UFC’s fight cards on FX and Fuel TV will keep Florian in the minds of UFC fans for the time being, and his frequent appearances on shows like UFC Tonight will only continue to advance his status as one of the best analysts in the sport.
All in all, Florian is a Hall of Fame quality fighter, ambassador and company man, and it should be a matter of when, not if, he gets inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.
Earlier this morning UFC President Dana White teased that he had a special announcement for the Ultimate Fighter Finale weigh-ins. The speculation covered everything from UFC 147 getting put on free TV to a proposed matchup between the winner of Kampma…
Earlier this morning UFC President Dana White teased that he had a special announcement for the Ultimate Fighter Finale weigh-ins. The speculation covered everything from UFC 147 getting put on free TV to a proposed matchup between the winner of Kampmann-Ellenberger vs. Carlos Condit at UFC on FOX 4.
What has come as a complete surprise is that the special announcement was for the retirement of Kenny “KenFlo” Florian. Florian was a contestant on the the first season of the Ultimate Fighter where he entered the house as a blown-up middleweight.
After losing to Diego Sanchez at the finale, he dropped down to welterweight where he found success against the likes of Kit Cope and Alex Karalexis. When the UFC announced that they were reinstating the lightweight division, Florian faced Sean Sherk for the vacant title.
Though he was unsuccessful in his title bid, Florian cemented himself as one of the most reliable and feared fighters in the division. He would put together a six-fight winning streak before challenging BJ Penn for the lightweight title.
Again, he was unsuccessful. In his time at lightweight, Florian would pick up wins over such names as Roger Huerta, Clay Guida and Takanori Gomi. Following a loss to Gray Maynard, he tried to reinvent himself as a featherweight.
He picked up a win over Diego Nunes in his featherweight debut before challenging featherweight champion Jose Aldo. It would be his third time challenging for a belt in the UFC, and unfortunately, he was unsuccessful once again in his bid for UFC gold.
Florian should be remembered as a fighter who was successful in four different weight classes and one of the best ambassadors for the sport. He will continue his involvement with UFC as a member of the broadcast team and a trainer of upcoming athletes.
As we prepare ourselves for UFC 146, it’s probably a good idea to discuss one of the biggest heavyweights in UFC history. Brock Lesnar retired from MMA following his UFC 141 loss to Alistair Overeem, which makes him a viable candidate for the UFC’s Hal…
As we prepare ourselves for UFC 146, it’s probably a good idea to discuss one of the biggest heavyweights in UFC history. Brock Lesnar retired from MMA following his UFC 141 loss to Alistair Overeem, which makes him a viable candidate for the UFC’s Hall of Fame.
On UFC tonight, a fan asked the following question of Randy Couture and Kenny Floridan: “Should Brock Lesnar be in the Hall of Fame? Is there enough room for the big man?” (2:05 in the video.)
Couture, a one time opponent of Lesnar and a current UFC Hall of Famer, was quick with his response in support of Lesnar.
He definitely should be. Anybody who’s gone in there and won the title, whether it’s been four fights, or six fights or whatever. He still made a huge impact in our sport. I think he brought that whole WWE crowd too. We saw that in the pay-per-view numbers that he put up every time he fought. I think it’s justified. I think he should be included in the Hall of Fame.
Couture is the fighter that Lesnar bested to capture the UFC gold. Couture is also one of the most well respected people in the sport and his opinion has always carried weight.
His co-host, Kenny Florian, was equally rapid in his response. He added: “Yeah, definitely. Former champ. Was in the UFC for a short amount of time, but no one probably will ever, ever have that kind of impact in that short amount of time.”
Only time will tell if Lesnar will be inducted in the UFC’s Hall of Fame. To make the discussion a bit easier, here are some Brock facts:
4-3 in the UFC
Wins: Heath Herring, Randy Couture, Frank Mir, Shane Carwin
Loses: Frank Mir, Cain Velasquez, Alistair Overeem
Title Defenses: 2
One of the biggest Pay Per View draws in combat sports history
Knowing the facts, does Lesnar belong in the UFC Hall of Fame?
Here at CP, I see “us” as a bunch of cynical, condescending, annoyed class-clowns that have a genuine love for the sport of MMA. We love great fights and enigmatic fighters, it’s really that simple. Whether it is a fighter’s personality or in-ring performance, we try our best not to be “nut-huggers,” but sometimes these things happen in MMA (Damn you Georges!). Because I wanted to curb any bias towards fighters that I might have, I tried my best to not be like a 14 year-old girl, so I avoided Twitter like an invitation to a Mike Whitehead BBQ – but I have given in. Not to the invite, but to my status as a new member of Twitter, and I must admit, there are some pretty damn compelling, comical, and surprisingly elegant MMA fighters that can wax poetic in 140 characters or less.
“Opinions are like assholes. Everybody has one and they think everyone else’s stinks.” I believe that phrase was coined by Sigmund Freud or the Dalai Lama…or George Carlin. Whoever came up with the analogy was clearly a genius with a tremendous affinity for “Dirty” Harry Callahan. So take a big whiff because these are the MMA fighters that I think you should be following on Twitter with a few examples from their recent timelines.
We were all introduced to KenFlo on TUF 1. Although he was somewhat overshadowed by more flamboyant participants and in-house scuffles, he’s elevated himself within the UFC as one of its most versatile members. Whether as a fighter or broadcaster, he displays his wit and charisma like a true pro, but on Twitter he mixes in self-deprecation with an almost narcissistic vibe.
“When I’m being threatened, I will start doing splits to let ppl know what’s up. I always get mistaken for a talented dancer or gymnast.”
“Is a bow tie & no shirt too formal for a charity event I’m going to next week?”
“Guys, stop putting high expectations on fighters. @rory_macdonald didn’t steal my hairdo, he borrowed it. #Respect”
“If you’ve never taken a man’s shoe & beaten him with it then you’ve never been in a street fight. #KenFloFacts”
(It turns out Miguel was actually making grape jokes, which I have no problem with whatsoever.)
Here at CP, I see “us” as a bunch of cynical, condescending, annoyed class-clowns that have a genuine love for the sport of MMA. We love great fights and enigmatic fighters, it’s really that simple. Whether it is a fighter’s personality or in-ring performance, we try our best not to be “nut-huggers,” but sometimes these things happen in MMA (Damn you Georges!). Because I wanted to curb any bias towards fighters that I might have, I tried my best to not be like a 14 year-old girl, so I avoided Twitter like an invitation to a Mike Whitehead BBQ – but I have given in. Not to the invite, but to my status as a new member of Twitter, and I must admit, there are some pretty damn compelling, comical, and surprisingly elegant MMA fighters that can wax poetic in 140 characters or less.
“Opinions are like assholes. Everybody has one and they think everyone else’s stinks.” I believe that phrase was coined by Sigmund Freud or the Dalai Lama…or George Carlin. Whoever came up with the analogy was clearly a genius with a tremendous affinity for “Dirty” Harry Callahan. So take a big whiff because these are the MMA fighters that I think you should be following on Twitter with a few examples from their recent timelines.
We were all introduced to KenFlo on TUF 1. Although he was somewhat overshadowed by more flamboyant participants and in-house scuffles, he’s elevated himself within the UFC as one of its most versatile members. Whether as a fighter or broadcaster, he displays his wit and charisma like a true pro, but on Twitter he mixes in self-deprecation with an almost narcissistic vibe.
“When I’m being threatened, I will start doing splits to let ppl know what’s up. I always get mistaken for a talented dancer or gymnast.”
“Is a bow tie & no shirt too formal for a charity event I’m going to next week?”
“Guys, stop putting high expectations on fighters. @rory_macdonald didn’t steal my hairdo, he borrowed it. #Respect”
“If you’ve never taken a man’s shoe & beaten him with it then you’ve never been in a street fight. #KenFloFacts”
Mark Hunt – twitter.com/#!/markhunt1974
Though the #RallyForMarkHunt campaign fell short, the Super Samoan’s twitter activity has not. Unlike most, Hunt is a lot more personable and will reply to damn near any question. When asked, “Do you EVER stop consuming alcohol?” He replied, “never.” Scripps probably won’t be sending him an invite to their next competition but it can’t be easy typing on a mobile device when your fingers have the same girth as beer bottles.
“Man last time I saw Jo son he was trying to pull the other fighters pants down hahahaha u didn’t know bout that style of fighting lol”
“dammit disregard my last tweet man that was not supposed to go out lol i am so stupid at this shit fark”
James Thompson – twitter.com/#!/JColossus
We all know the MegaPunk and judging by the way he fights, I am pretty sure that most would assume that the guy communicates like a caveman with a brain hemorrhage. Nothing could be further from the truth. Not only is he a Twitter dynamo who answers questions and responds to fans, he writes a very cerebral blog at colossalconcerns.com where he discusses all things MMA.
“Gf got me working the door again for her bar for some night. So tired I could cry. Sometimes i wish I was small and not so colossus like.”
“After working the door last night I’m curious and slightly disturbed/confused about what young people have against socks.”
“Needed to burn more calories today so set a fat kid on fire.”
“Who the fuck decide it would be cutting edge and cool not to be able to digest wheat properly. #neversawthatcoming”
Josh Barnett – twitter.com/#!/JoshLBarnett
If you are into MMA, Heavy Metal music, food binges, and muscle cars, then the artist formerly known as “The Baby-faced Assassin” is a guy to follow. Not only will he advise you on your current metal play-list, he will also describe his odd meals complete with pictures. A couple weeks ago, Barnett documented his destruction of a menu item called “Symposium of Ecstasy”- a giant meat platter intended on offending every vegan or member of PETA.
“Query: How long will it take before some rapper has taken ‘Someone That I Used to Know’ & ripped it off into ‘Someone That I Used to F#@!’”
“Goddamn I LOVE Don Frye. The man has a way with words.”
“A gay dude just eyeballed me, smiled and said “hi” while walking by…I still got it. #handsomedevil”
Dan Hardy – twitter.com/#!/danhardymma
“The Outlaw” always puts on entertaining fights, and after reading his tweets you will quickly realize that there is another reason why he wasn’t released by the UFC after 4 consecutive losses: he just seems like a pretty damn cool guy. Whether it is his escapades at the gym, his late night excursions to Target or the fact that he is a gun aficionado, Hardy comes off as a dude you want to have a pint with while theorizing your plan for the looming attack by the undead.
“I think Twitter should have a teleport function so instead of blocking someone I could show up wherever they are and beat them mercilessly.”
“Floyd Mayweather is such a dick. I dislike him a little more every time I hear him speak.”
“Police checkpoint on the way home from the gym, trying to catch the stoners because its 4/20. Tax money well spent right? #WhatAWaste”
“On a side note kids – Guns are for self defense, target practice, action movies and the coming zombie apocalypse. Not for problem solving.”
Forrest Griffin – twitter.com/#!/ForrestGriffin
Being an author of 2 books and having a sense of humor that could make a nun blush really gives FoGriff an advantage in this medium. What more could you expect from a guy that dressed in a loin cloth on one of his book covers? Answer: On Twitter you can get a picture of a spread-eagle Forrest dressed like SuperGirl in front of a casino slot machine.
“The other thing is real life prostitutes never look like the ones on tv”
“I want to sincerely apologize for my last tweet. I did not mean to say prostitute I meant to say sex worker. There much better”
“Homework: next time someone casually says hi say ‘your death will give me great pleasure’ or ‘your death will bring me great joy’”
“Did you here UFC fighter @StephanBonnar was arrested for loitering at a public highway reststop restroom”
Tim Kennedy – twitter.com/#!/TimKennedyMMA
There are some that think Tim may be the next person fired for his Twitter contributions but I enjoy the crap out of him. He is active with his tweets and judging from some of the things that CP has covered, he clearly doesn’t take himself too seriously. Although he is too politically motivated for my taste, Kennedy is still a worthwhile follow.
“Professional politicians, hippies, zombies, brussels sprouts, cheap furniture, cutting weight, and one ply toilet paper #ThingsIDislike”
“Dr. Phil please email me. [email protected] I want to coordinate punching some sense into you! You are an idiot.”
“Whenever I want to renew my concern for our country I just go down to the Starbucks by the university and fear for our future.”
“They should let @BrianStann and I head to North Korea to straighten some things out.”
Pat Barry –twitter.com/#!/HypeOrDie
Barry may have the greatest twitter wallpaper/background image in all the land and apparently his CAPS LOCK key is stuck. Aside from being generally hilarious, “HD” was pretty active with the tweets during last weekends Invicta FC with good insight mixed with comic relief. Don’t forget, he did give us one of the greatest video clips ever.
“FUCK TREADMILLS!!!”
“NOT SURE IF THIS IS A BAD SIGN BUT I WOKE UP, ATE, DRANK A REDLINE, THEN INSTANTLY WENT BACK TO SLEEP HARDER THAN I SLEPT LAST NIGHT!!!#fb”
“I WONDER IF ALL THE PEOPLE CONSTANTLY ASKING ME TO SUPPORT THIS HUNT RALLY ARE ASKING MIR AND CAIN TO HELP SUPPORT ALSO???”
“I’LL SUPPORT THE RALLYFORHUNT AS SOON AS EVERYONE ASKING ME TO SUPPORTS RALLYFORHD WHICH IS JUST GIVE ME THE TITLE WITH NO FIGHT!!! DEAL???”
I am not delusional and in no way do I think that I know these dudes because they answered a question or sent out one of mine as a retweet, but Twitter does give you a better understanding of some of the combatant’s personalities. Although social media is a hand grenade without a pin, when used responsibly, it gives althletes and fans a way to interact. I recommend Twitter to follow fighters especially during live events because you can’t get a better source for in-fight analysis. If I know the CP community, I am about to get treated like Ned Beatty in Deliverance.
Everybody out there supposedly has someone who looks exactly like them—a doppelganger.In the UFC, the story is no different. Some UFC fighters, including one who appears on this list, have earned nicknames based off of the people they look like.T…
Everybody out there supposedly has someone who looks exactly like them—a doppelganger.
In the UFC, the story is no different. Some UFC fighters, including one who appears on this list, have earned nicknames based off of the people they look like.
This list will focus on nine current UFC fighters, personalities, champions and UFC executives.
It was over seven years ago that UFC fans were first introduced to 
