The Buffalo Bills of MMA: Kenny “KenFlo” Florian
On Saturday night at UFC 136, a featherweight “showdown” between the current UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo, whom is riding a 12 fight win streak taking on an opponent he has never seen before inside the Octagon: Kenny “KenFlo” Florian.
The Ultimate Fighter season one runner-up in the Middleweight division, Kenny Florian will be making his third appearance in a championship bout in his second weight class (Lightweight twice & Featherweight). Each of these times when push comes to shove, Kenny Florian comes up just short, always missing wide right of becoming the next champion.
In Kenny’s UFC career he has only been stopped twice in a fight, B.J. Penn submitted him in their Lightweight Title Fight and Diego Sanchez won by TKO in becoming the first ever Ultimate Fighter Champion. His other title fight was a 5 round unanimous decision where Sean Sherk dominated Kenny Florian for almost all 5 rounds. Minus the three championship loses, Kenny Florian has proven to be nearly unbeatable. His only non title loss in the UFC was a unanimous decision loss against Gray Maynard in an elimination bout to square off against current champion Frankie Edgar.
But when the pressure is on Kenny Florian why doesn’t he show up?
Watching the Sanchez, Maynard and Sherk fights it was almost identical in how a bigger, stronger wrestler worked his way around Florian and grinded him out. When Florian fought B.J. Penn he didn’t look like the fighter that had walked through Roger Huerta and Joe Lauzon. This was a “wrestler” version of Kenny Florian who for nearly four rounds just tried to pin B.J. against the cage and tire him out, only to be stopped in the 4th round. All of these traits and tactics that Florian is using in title fights are not the fighter that he shows time in and time out when there is no belt on the line.
With his third title shot (and possibly last) against Jose Aldo, the deck once again is stacked against him. Florian is a man who says he wants to see fights finished and he is the man who finishes fights, but with this upcoming title shot, in another new weight division for Kenny Florian, which fighter will show up? Will we get the ruthless Kenny Florian that dominates his opponents, or will we receive the Kenny Florian who is much more patient and is not going for the kill, but playing it safe to finally win his title?
If Florian loses once again in another pressure cooker fight where a title is on the line, he will always be known to me as “The Buffalo Bills of MMA” because he just can’t win the big one.
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Great article Drew! This is the kind of thing I want to read. Keep it up man.