Kenny Florian: I will be moving and staying at Lightweight
Posted on December 20, 2011, 10:37 PM by Trent Reinsmith
On October 8, 2011, Kenny Florian fought Jose Aldo for the UFC Featherweight title. The bout was Florian’s third shot at a UFC title belt and after 25 minutes it was his third loss in a UFC title fight.
It should be noted that when Florian broke into the UFC he fought in the 185 pound Middleweight division. Florian fought once at the 185 pound limit, losing to Diego Sanchez at the Ultimate Fighter Season One finale. In his next fight he dropped to Welterweight, winning two fights there before dropping to Lightweight, where he stayed for 12 fights. Florian then dropped to Featherweight, defeating Diego Nunes to earn the shot at Aldo.
After losing to Aldo, a despondent Florian would not confirm what the future held for him as far as fighting in the UFC.
Recently Florian opened up on that subject as well as his fights at Featherweight, “Dropping to the Featherweight division was way too much for my body to handle. The Diego Nunes fight was the worst I've ever felt on a weigh-in day. Luckily, I felt better on fight day and was able to pull out a victory. But, against Aldo it was a brutal weight cut, and I really didn't feel too great heading into the fight. In result, I had some medical issues I had to deal with. I had a thyroid issue that was based on the drastic weight loss. Those are the things you kind of ignore as a fighter, but it became very real to me after the fight. I'll now be moving and staying at Lightweight." – for more see BleacherReport.com
Photo: Kenny Florian speaks at the UFC 91press conference at the MGM Grand Hotel on November 13, 2008 in Las Vegas, NV. Francis Specker
Comments
I think Florian is just one of those guys that is never meant to be a champion. Still a great fighter though.
never meant to be UFC champion** i really think florian should lead the way with a few other lightweights and hop over to SF. He is a popular name and since he went 0-3 in ufc title fights its not really relevant to keep him in the UFC LW division. its a win, win for zuffa and the fans if he brings his talents to strikeforce
But how about flyweight Kenny?
I think he is still a force at 155. He is still top #5 at LW. He finished Guida, Gomi, Stevenson & Lauzon. That's a pretty good list.
Maybe a rematch with Sherk in the future. Because both are still top 10 IMO. But are never gonna get a Titleshot again.
Maybe a good headliner for a FX or Fuel show.
He actually would be further along if he had stayed at LW and kept evolving. Kenny has surprised a lot of guys including myself from time to time. Hes still far better than a gatekeeper.
I think a rematch with Guida would be better. After Clay's loss to KenFlo, he started incorporating his now trademark insane movement to take advantage of his limitless energy. I think Kenny would have a hard time finding his chin again.
he should be the chief executive of weight watchers.
Kenny Florian.........the Jimmy White of MMA
Lightweight, no wait a minute......Flyweight, no wait......maybe I'll try Welterweight. Does it really matter Kenny?
This weight fluctuation between Middle to Feather weight and every other weight in between could do some damage. He is a great fighter BUT it seems like he just falls short of being a champion for some reason.
Say you want to finish fights in Strikeforce. I'm sure he'll get paid big to be a crash test dummy for Melendez.
When you affect your thyroid by cutting weight...then you know you've gone too far. C'mon Kenny lightweight is your division
One of the best LWs his only problem is he sometimes struggles with top of the chain wrestlers or striking phenoms (Maynard and Aldo)
Kennys a boss when he's not fighting for the strap.