Tag: Kenny Florian

Kenny Florian Making His Run at Jose Aldo and the UFC Featherweight Championship

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.    

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Will ESPN Ever Fully Embrace MMA?

Mixed martial arts is steadily entering the mainstream with each passing event.Fighters are being interviewed on more talk shows, casual fans are recognizing more athletes, but there remains one last obstacle before MMA can be considered a legitimate, …

Mixed martial arts is steadily entering the mainstream with each passing event.

Fighters are being interviewed on more talk shows, casual fans are recognizing more athletes, but there remains one last obstacle before MMA can be considered a legitimate, high profile sport.

More coverage on ESPN.

For a long time, the worldwide leader in sports gave little coverage, if any, to the UFC and no coverage at all to the other promotions.  MMA was believed to be bloody and barbaric, relegated to a small section on the company’s website. 

But the last two or three years has given way to a substantial increase in reporting for all the major MMA promotions by ESPN.

In 2008, ESPN started MMA Live as an internet show, mixing traditional analysts and commentators with fighters as a way to cover events.  The show received so much positive feedback that the corporate brass decided to make the internet segment into a television program.

The show, regularly hosted by UFC personalities such as Kenny Florian, Rashad Evans and Stephan Bonnar, has gained a huge following by MMA and casual fans alike despite being aired late at night once a week.

ESPN has also featured some of the sport’s most amazing moments on SportsCenter’s Top Plays. Anthony Pettis’ “Showtime” kick and Anderson Silva‘s front kick knockout are just two great occurrences that appeared on the segment.

But if MMA, and especially the UFC, want to take the next step, then they will have to push for even more coverage by ESPN, specifically in the United States.

ESPN has shown an increased commitment to reporting on MMA, adding more money to their MMA budget recently and partnering with the UFC to televise events overseas.

However, inconsistent coverage on SportsCenter and the terrible time slot for the MMA Live show makes ESPN hesitant to fully embrace the sport just yet.

As the sport continues to grow and gain more and more fans, I have faith that ESPN will certainly start catering to MMA fans and, hopefully, elevate the sport to a higher profile status.

You can follow Matt on Twitter @MattJuulMMA.

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UFC 131 Fight Card: Full Breakdown for Every Fight

UFC 131 is just around the corner, and the fight card is shaping up into an exciting one.The main event featuring Junior dos Santos vs. Shane Carwin, as well as the featherweight debut of Kenny Florian facing Diego Nunes, will headline the pay-per-view…

UFC 131 is just around the corner, and the fight card is shaping up into an exciting one.

The main event featuring Junior dos Santos vs. Shane Carwin, as well as the featherweight debut of Kenny Florian facing Diego Nunes, will headline the pay-per-view, but there are other great fights on the card as well.

With under a week remaining before the fights take place, let’s take a look at each bout in this full breakdown of the UFC 131 fight card.

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Clay Guida Doesn’t Deserve a Shot at the UFC Lightweight Title Just Yet

At “The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale” on Saturday evening in Las Vegas, Clay Guida outwrestled the flashy Anthony Pettis in taking a unanimous decision victory over the last WEC lightweight champion. It was by far the biggest win of Guida&rsq…

At “The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale” on Saturday evening in Las Vegas, Clay Guida outwrestled the flashy Anthony Pettis in taking a unanimous decision victory over the last WEC lightweight champion.

It was by far the biggest win of Guida’s career and immediately launched him into the upper echelon of the UFC’s stacked lightweight division.

In wake of the win, Guida told Joe Rogan he was ready for a title shot. Although Pettis was promised a shot at the 155-pound title by UFC president Dana White had he emerged from this fight victorious, the same pledge was never made to Guida.

Those who believe Guida deserves a title shot point to his recent four-fight win streak. They forget just who he has fought during those four victories.

Shannon Gugerty? A guy who has a sub-.500 record (2-3) in the UFC, and someone who only diehard fans have heard of. Yes, Guida did win the “Submission of the Night” award for his arm-triangle victory, but Gugerty is nothing special.

Rafael Dos Anjos? Another guy with a .500 record in the UFC (3-3). Although Guida looked fantastic in breaking Dos Anjos’ jaw in this fight, it’s not like the Brazilian is one of the best in the division.

Takanori Gomi? Aside from delivering a flash knockout to Tyson Griffin last summer, Gomi has looked nothing like the fighter who ran through PRIDE in his other octagon battles, losing by submission to Guida and Kenny Florian.

Don’t forget that before this recent streak Guida lost two fights in a row, a barn-burner to Diego Sanchez and a choke-out loss to the aforementioned Florian.

Even with his victory last night, Guida still only holds a 9-5 record in the UFC. And although his move to Greg Jackson’s camp has clearly rejuvenated his career, one cannot forget his overall body of work in the Octagon when considering how worthy he is of a title shot.

Guida is definitely an exciting fighter. He pushes an unrelenting pace through his fights, has some of the best cardio in the sport, sports a cast-iron chin, and has a likeable and unique personality. He’s fun to watch and root for.

To fight for the UFC gold, however, requires a sustained body of excellence, and Guida hasn’t demonstrated this just yet. If four wins in the span of a year earns one a title shot, like proponents of Guida believe, then what about Melvin Guillard?

Like Guida, Guillard has won four in a row and like Guida, Guillard’s fights are exciting to watch. He has also been in the UFC for what seems like forever, and even has a similar UFC record to Guida at 10-4. But you don’t hear fans clamoring for Guillard’s title shot.

Of course, there’s Jim Miller, he sports a 9-1 record inside the UFC including a current seven-fight win streak. It just doesn’t make sense for Guida to get a crack at the gold before Miller, especially considering Miller’s only two career losses have come at the hands of Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, the top two guys in the division.

The easiest thing to do is to pull Miller from his fight with Ben Henderson and set up a No. 1 contender showdown between he and Guida. Both of these guys are on the cusp of stardom but really need a victory over a consensus top-10 lightweight to firmly entrench their place in the division.

With Edgar and Maynard hopefully culminating their trilogy in the fall, the timing is right to hold a late-summer/fall tilt between Miller and Guida to determine who gets the next crack at the belt. The winner of that fight would without question be deserving of fighting for UFC gold.

Defeating Pettis is no doubt a massive feather in Guida’s cap. But it’s not enough for him to get a title shot, at least not just yet.

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The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale: The 10 Best Participants Not to Win Their Season

Multiple winners of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) series have gone onto become UFC champions.But what about those TUF participants who came short of earning that guaranteed six-figure contract with the UFC? Many of these fighters have gone on to very succ…

Multiple winners of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) series have gone onto become UFC champions.

But what about those TUF participants who came short of earning that guaranteed six-figure contract with the UFC? Many of these fighters have gone on to very successful UFC careers of their own.

None of these fighters have been able to capture a title, but a couple have come very close and others have become perennial contenders.

Here are the 10 best TUF participants who didn’t win it all on their season.

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UFC 131: Breakdown and Predictions for the Entire Card

UFC 131: A Look at Each of the 12 Fights on the CardBleacher Report’s Vince Carey:It’s easy to completely write off UFC 131 now that Brock Lesnar has been forced out due to injury. The main card isn’t as good as one would expect from the UFC, and …

UFC 131: A Look at Each of the 12 Fights on the Card

Bleacher Report’s Vince Carey:

It’s easy to completely write off UFC 131 now that Brock Lesnar has been forced out due to injury.

The main card isn’t as good as one would expect from the UFC, and it lacks a true co-main event, but overall, the card is still worth the $60 you know you’ll end up spending on it.

Making predictions for any sport is tough, but it’s even harder in MMA due to its unpredictable nature. I only bring this up because if you use these picks and lose some money, I can say, “I told you so.”