Tag: Kenny Florian

Kenny Florian’s Career Could Be Over

UFC lightweight and featherweight title challenger Kenny Florian may see his career as a mixed-martial-artist come to an end after suffering a back injury, according to an interview with the Boston Herald. The 35-year-old suffered a lumbar herniat…

UFC lightweight and featherweight title challenger Kenny Florian may see his career as a mixed-martial-artist come to an end after suffering a back injury, according to an interview with the Boston Herald.

The 35-year-old suffered a lumbar herniated disc in his lower back while weight training late last year. A unsuccessful attempt at winning the 145-pound title against reigning champion Jose Aldo in October had Florian considering a move back to lightweight.

“It’s possible, unfortunately,” Florian said. “I’ve kind of been going back-and-forth with some of the doctors, so it’s possible. I’m going to see. As of right now, obviously I can’t compete and train like I was at all. I’m just kind of doing what I can and hoping that things heal up and get better. I’m just kind of in a holding pattern. That’s why I decided to do this commentary for the time being and take this next six months to really heal up and try to make some money on the side. It sucks. The last couple of months I’ve just been figuring out what’s going on and what I’m going to do.”

If Florian is unable to continue competing due to the injury, there will always be a career as a commentator for the UFC. It’s something he has done before, and many fans like to hear a new voice every once and a while. Events where Florian has commentated include UFC 83, Ultimate Fight Night 19 and UFC 134. He also has done commentator work for the WEC.

“It’s not good,” Florian continued. “That’s why I’m trying to stay hopeful. We’ll see. I’ve been out here in (Los Angeles) doing this show every week for ‘UFC Tonight’ for Fuel TV and doing some other things. I’m just hoping that it can heal up and get better and then see if I can go back to doing what I was doing. So far, I still need to rest. If I go to do something physical, I’m just not able to do it. That pain is coming back.”

Florian’s record stands at 14-6 with wins over Clay Guida, Takanor Gomi, Joe Stevenson, Roger Huerta, Joe Lauzon and Sam Stout. His attempts at UFC titles came against BJ Penn, Sean Sherk and Aldo.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Kenny Florian May Retire From the UFC Due to Back Injury

Filed under: UFC, NewsKenny Florian’s mixed martial arts career may have come to an end.

The 35-year-old Florian, who three times fought for a UFC belt, told the Boston Herald that a herniated disc in his lower back could prevent him from ever fightin…

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Kenny FlorianKenny Florian‘s mixed martial arts career may have come to an end.

The 35-year-old Florian, who three times fought for a UFC belt, told the Boston Herald that a herniated disc in his lower back could prevent him from ever fighting again. Two doctors, one an orthopedist and one a neurologist, have told him that quitting MMA would be the wisest course of action.

“It’s possible, unfortunately,” Florian said. “I’ve kind of been going back-and-forth with some of the doctors, so it’s possible. I’m going to see. As of right now, obviously I can’t compete and train like I was at all. I’m just kind of doing what I can and hoping that things heal up and get better. I’m just kind of in a holding pattern. That’s why I decided to do this commentary for the time being and take this next six months to really heal up and try to make some money on the side. It sucks. The last couple of months I’ve just been figuring out what’s going on and what I’m going to do.”

Florian last fought on October 8, losing to featherweight champion Jose Aldo. There was some talk immediately following that fight that Florian could retire, but at that time Florian said he still wanted to compete, likely back at lightweight.

However, things changed when Florian suffered a back injury while lifting weights in November. Florian says he has been dealing with tingling and numbness in his right leg since then.

If there’s any silver lining for Florian, it’s that he has started to build a second career in broadcasting. In other sports, it’s common for former athletes to get jobs as announcers after they walk away but in MMA, where broadcasting jobs are scarce, Florian could become something of a trailblazer. He’s a natural on television, and the UFC’s new deal to put shows on Fox, FX and Fuel means there are more opportunities available for former fighters to make a living behind the microphone.

“It’s not good,” Florian told the Herald. “That’s why I’m trying to stay hopeful. We’ll see. I’ve been out here in (Los Angeles) doing this show every week for UFC Tonight for Fuel TV and doing some other things. I’m just hoping that it can heal up and get better and then see if I can go back to doing what I was doing. So far, I still need to rest. If I go to do something physical, I’m just not able to do it. That pain is coming back.”

If Florian is done, he’ll leave MMA with a career record of 14-6, including 12-5 in the UFC. Only 10 fighters in UFC history have more career wins than Florian.

 

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UFC 142: Chad Mendes Talks Jose Aldo, Urijah Faber, and Kenny Florian

Chad Mendes watched his partner lose. Urijah Faber was not finished in the fight, but he did not look very good coming out of it. Featherweight champion Jose Aldo dominated Mendes’ friend and training partner for the full five rounds. In retainin…

Chad Mendes watched his partner lose.

Urijah Faber was not finished in the fight, but he did not look very good coming out of it. Featherweight champion Jose Aldo dominated Mendes’ friend and training partner for the full five rounds. In retaining the title, Aldo utilized a wide assortment of strikes, including vicious leg kicks, to retain the title.

Now, Mendes has a chance to succeed where Faber did not. On Jan. 14, in Aldo’s home country of Brazil, Mendes will go one-on-one with the UFC feather champion.

To prepare for the fight, Mendes will be watching the footage from the Faber-Aldo bout.

Faber is more than a training partner of Mendes. He is one the key people to make Mendes a successful mixed martial artist.

“It doesn’t make me nervous,” Mendes said to Bleacher Report’s Gary Herman when asked about watching the Aldo-Faber video.

“It really helps me out. We saw what his game plan would be against a wrestler.

“For me, it’s a way to pick Urijah’s brain to see where Aldo’s strengths are and where he thought Aldo was weak. It will help developing our camp and our game plan.”

Mendes’ first opportunity to compete for the UFC title almost took place a few months ago. Mendes was deemed the No. 1 contender, and he was just waiting for the fight to be announced.

However, when longtime lightweight star Kenny Florian announced he would be dropping to featherweight, plans quickly changed.

“I wasn’t too surprised,” Mendes said, when asked about the switch from himself to Florian.

“I kind of heard it coming down. If Florian won his first fight (over Diego Nunes), they were going to put him in. At first, I was a little upset, but Kenny has a huge following.”

As with Faber’s loss to Aldo, Mendes sees a bright spot in his being passed over in favor of Florian at UFC 136.

“Honestly, all it did was bring more recognition to us featherweights,” Mendes said.

“Plus, I was able to watch that fight and pick Aldo apart a little more.”

While this will be Mendes’ first shot at the title, former champion Faber has had three opportunities to win a UFC title since he first lost the featherweight title to Mike Brown. Faber had missed title opportunities against Brown, Aldo and bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz.

However, with all that big fight experience combined with his up-close knowledge of Mendes, Faber believes his training partner will do well in the fight.

“I think Chad’s unstoppable wrestling is going to really translate in the fight,” Faber said to Bleacher Report’s Gary Herman.

“Aldo has great conditioning. He’s a great athlete, but we’ve seen when he’s done more grappling he gets more tired. Chad will force some grappling on him, and Chad’s very tough.”

Like Mendes, Faber is watching the video from his prior Aldo fight to assist with preparation.

“I’m a durable guy, and Aldo pinpointed my leg and took it apart,” Faber said, referring to the vicious assault of leg kicks.

“Chad knows that, and he knows what he has to do.”

Mendes’ opportunity will be coming very early in his MMA career. While he is undefeated, Mendes has only had 11 prior fights.

“Three years into my career, I never thought I’d be doing this already,” Mendes said.

“I know he’s a very dangerous fighter. I got to be careful of those big knees, the kicks, and the big uppercuts.”

Even with the difference in experience compared to Aldo’s 21 fights, Mendes is confident.

“I think it’s a great fight for me,” the former collegiate wrestling standout said.

“My wrestling will definitely slow him down. Hopefully, we get in there I can take it where I want to take it.”

While Mendes stopped short of predicting victory, Faber did not.

“I think he’s going to do it.” Faber said.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

10 UFC Fighters Who Need to Move to Strikeforce

With fighters like Gilbert Melendez, Luke Rockhold, and King Mo Lawal, Strikeforce has some legitimate talent. The problem is, their talent pool is so limited that unless the organization wants to keep trotting out the same 5 fights as main events over…

With fighters like Gilbert Melendez, Luke Rockhold, and King Mo Lawal, Strikeforce has some legitimate talent.

The problem is, their talent pool is so limited that unless the organization wants to keep trotting out the same 5 fights as main events over and over again, they need to either add some talent or create some of their own.

While Strikeforce has valiantly been trying to create stars through their Challengers series over the past few years, the number of marketable fighters they have gained has been minimal and with the Challengers events now defunct, they’ll need to find talent from another source.

Obviously this is alluding to the UFC.

The biggest organization has plenty of fighters who are stuck in the middle of their respective divisions, and while they are far away from title fights in the UFC, they would be instant title contenders in Strikeforce.

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The Rearview Mirror: Five MMA Trends We Hope To Have Left Behind In 2011

“Listen, I know we’ve had our moments, but before you make your list just hear me out…” (Photo: Gossiboocrew.com)

We’re only a few hours into the new year, but unless your head hit the pillow just as the ball dropped, you’ve probably already carried some of your bad habits with you into 2012. We are creatures of habit, and change doesn’t come naturally to us. If it did, we wouldn’t make such a big production out of our ‘New Year’s Resolutions’. The sport of mixed martial arts and its fans are no different. Here’s a quick look at some of the bad habits we’ve picked up and poor decisions we’ve made over the past 12-months. Let’s hope we can leave them behind in yesteryear.

“Listen, I know we’ve had our moments, but before you make your list just hear me out…” (Photo: Gossiboocrew.com)

We’re only a few hours into the new year, but unless your head hit the pillow just as the ball dropped, you’ve probably already carried some of your bad habits with you into 2012. We are creatures of habit, and change doesn’t come naturally to us. If it did, we wouldn’t make such a big production out of our ‘New Year’s Resolutions’. The sport of mixed martial arts and its fans are no different. Here’s a quick look at some of the bad habits we’ve picked up and poor decisions we’ve made over the past 12-months. Let’s hope we can leave them behind in yesteryear.

 

“Faggot”, “Cunty”, Rape Jokes, Etc.

“That’s why pencils have erasers.” (Pic: MMAMania.com)

2011 was a year that pushed the envelope of political correctness, even for a sport largely celebrated for its ‘anything goes’ mojo. After witnessing a gruesome motorboating accident, debating the proper way to address a woman, and being dragged along for Michael Bisping’s one-man homophobia tour, fans heard so many rape jokes that, well, let’s just say they became commonplace.

If I cared about people’s feelings I probably wouldn’t read this site and I certainly would write half of what I do, so don’t look to me to carry the torch for easily offended. And while I also think that it’s certainly not in the best interest of any public figure to use divisive, hateful language, it’s their right to speak their mind and live or die by their words. Lastly, although these incidents have been used by our enemies to suppress our mainstream progress, I don’t think anything short of an in-Octagon death can stop us now.

So why am I opposed to this controversial language? Simple: I don’t want a poor choice of words coming between me and great fights. We’ve already seen one fighter cut, albeit briefly, for an off-color joke, and I don’t want it to happen again. Had the UFC pulled the plug on the Brock experiment after his UFC 100 tirade, we would have missed out on many of the highs and lows of his polarizing career. And just imagine how less interesting the welterweight division would be right now if Diaz’s many past crimes were held against him. If we continue down this road, a major star is going to cross the line and we’ll all be deprived of great fights. That’s why it’s time to draw a line in the sand.

Which brings me to our next item…

CagePotato Presents: The Ten Most Forgettable Fights of 2011


(Similar to Georges St.Pierre, MMA pundits, and most fans heading into UFC 129, Dana White was looking right past Jake Shields.)

2011 is approaching it’s final hour, Potato Nation, and when we typically take a look back at the year that was, we often lump things in terms of the very best, and more often than not, the very worst. But even though it has been arguably the biggest year in the sport’s History, it hasn’t gone without it’s fair share of snoozefests, sparring matches, and fights that simply didn’t live up to their own hype. For every Rua/Hendo, there was a Torres/Banuelos, so to speak, that kept us from having a full-on Chuck Liddell style freak out. It’s not that these fights made us angry, it’s just that they failed to make us feel anything.

In a way, they were actually a good thing for the sport, as they raised our appreciation for the epic slugfests, the back and forth brawls, and the technical battles to new heights. So it is for these unsung heroes that we bring you The Ten Most Forgettable Fights of 2011, presented in chronological order.

#10: Jacob Volkmann vs. Antonio Mckee

We know what you’re thinking, Potatoites, you’re thinking, “My God, it’s only been a year since this clown (dis)graced the UFC with that performance?” Well the answer is yes, and almost to the exact date. On January 1st at UFC 125, Anthony Mckee made his long awaited debut in the UFC. And when we say “long awaited,” we mean by none other than Mckee himself. You see, Anthony Mckee followed the James Toney method of trolling his way into the UFC through a shitstorm of self absorbed and ridiculous claims, despite only claiming seven finishes in his previous thirty contests. Well, DW took the bait, and threw Mckee humble wrestler and future threat to Homeland Security, Jacob Volkmann, for his big debut.


(Similar to Georges St.Pierre, MMA pundits, and most fans heading into UFC 129, Dana White was looking right past Jake Shields.)

2011 is approaching it’s final hour, Potato Nation, and when we typically take a look back at the year that was, we often lump things in terms of the very best, and more often than not, the very worst. But even though it has been arguably the biggest year in the sport’s History, it hasn’t gone without it’s fair share of snoozefests, sparring matches, and fights that simply didn’t live up to their own hype. For every Rua/Hendo, there was a Torres/Banuelos, so to speak, that kept us from having a full-on Chuck Liddell style freak out. It’s not that these fights made us angry, it’s just that they failed to make us feel anything.

In a way, they were actually a good thing for the sport, as they raised our appreciation for the epic slugfests, the back and forth brawls, and the technical battles to new heights. So it is for these unsung heroes that we bring you The Ten Most Forgettable Fights of 2011, presented in chronological order.

#10: Jacob Volkmann vs. Antonio Mckee

We know what you’re thinking, Potatoites, you’re thinking, “My God, it’s only been a year since this clown (dis)graced the UFC with that performance?” Well the answer is yes, and almost to the exact date. On January 1st at UFC 125, Anthony Mckee made his long awaited debut in the UFC. And when we say “long awaited,” we mean by none other than Mckee himself. You see, Anthony Mckee followed the James Toney method of trolling his way into the UFC through a shitstorm of self absorbed and ridiculous claims, despite only claiming seven finishes in his previous thirty contests. Well, DW took the bait, and threw Mckee humble wrestler and future threat to Homeland Security, Jacob Volkmann, for his big debut.

And after unleashing a verbal assault on Volkmann the likes of which we had yet to experience, “Mandingo” proceeded to stick his foot so far down his mouth that his leg nearly snapped at the knee. The fight was terrible, with neither fighter even attempting to engage over the course of 15 minutes. In fact, Mckee’s most significant offense was captured in the above photo, in which he decided to use his strongest asset as a fighter to attempt a takedown. Volkmann would walk away the victor via split decision, and Mckee would be served his walking papers, which he would then try and pass off as some old school racism by the UFC. Good riddance, d-bag.

#9: Steve Cantwell vs. Cyrille Diabate – UFC Live 3 

Best known for his trilogy of wars with top middleweight contender Brian Stann, Steve “The Robot” Cantwell found himself sidelined and on a two fight losing streak in 2009. His losing efforts to Stann and Luiz Cane had been relatively entertaining, and before that Cantwell had scored a SOTN award by breaking Razak Al-Hassan’s arm at UFC: Fight For the Troops. Cyrille Diabate, on the other hand, had scored a TKO victory over Cane in his debut before being submitted by Alexander Gustafsson. The fight was placed on the Facebook prelims, and promised to be a technical kickboxing clinic. To say it was a letdown would be an understatement.

The match was little more than a light sparring session, at one point drawing that exact comparison from Joe Rogan during the third round when neither fighter remotely attempted to pick up the pace. It would be mark the halfway…uh…mark of Cantwell’s current four-fight losing streak, and would be Diabate’s last win as well; he would go on to drop a second round submission to Anthony Perosh at UFC 138.

#8: Phil Davis vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueria – UFN 24

Phil Davis had a hell of a year in 2010. Not only did he go 4-0 in the UFC, scoring wins over the likes of Alexander Gustafsson and Brian Stann, but the man even invented a submission, a hammerlock/kimura hybrid dubbed “The Mr. Wonderful.” Not bad for someone who had been training MMA for less than two years at the time. With his aforementioned submission win over Tim Boetsch, Davis was almost immediately pegged as the next Jon Jones by MMA critics and fans alike, despite the fact that Jon Jones had barely begun his own rise to success. When Davis was placed against former PRIDE star Antonio Rogerio Nogueria, who had knocked out then undefeated Luiz Cane in under two minutes and scored a razor thin decision over Jason Brilz in his own UFC run, the MMA community was ready a grand display of fireworks, and walked away with sparklers.

After a tense first half that saw little to no significant strikes landed, the first round was mainly comprised of Davis trying unsuccessfully to take Nogueria down. And when he was forced to stand, we saw a different, less wonderful version of Davis, complete with an array of awkward push/teep kicks and one-to-two punch combinations that were all but completely ineffective against Lil Nog. Davis was able to secure his first takedown midway through the second round, and to his credit, was able to control the BJJ black belt down when he did so. “Minotoro” on the other hand, never really looked like he was that concerned about finishing the fight, despite Davis’ increased takedown success over the next round and a half. His punches came slower and slower, and by the end of it many in the silent audience were simply awaiting a decision.

It’s not that there was anything particularly bad in this fight, it’s just that there wasn’t much to write home about, including Phil Davis, who’s momentum train found itself at the bottom of a very large hill afterward. And as it turns out, this would be the first of many lackluster main events to come…