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UFC Fight Night 11: Kenny Florian vs. Din Thomas

Kenny Florian vs. Din Thomas
It didn't take long to learn about the replacement for Spencer Fisher in the UFC Fight Night 11 main event against Din Thomas on September 19.

Kenny Florian, according to MMAWeekly.com, will fill-in for the Miletich product after we learned earlier today that he is sidelined with a serious staph infection in his knee.

"Ken Flo" -- who just returned from a tour of the Middle East to meet with U.S. troops stationed there -- dispatched of Alvin Robinson during round one of his most recent bout at UFC 73: "Stacked" last month.

He announced recently that his next bout was slated for UFC 78 in November. The loss of Fisher, however, means that Florian will have to get back in the gym a little sooner than expected. It's unclear at this time if will remain on the UFC 78 card.

Thomas is on a three-fight win streak since the conclusion of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 4 and returning to the 155-pound division. "Dinyero" recently submitted Jeremy Stephens via armbar at UFC 71 back in May.

Despite the loss of Fisher, this is still a main event that has a lot of implications in the division -- especially if current champion Sean Sherk is stripped of the belt because of steroids. The winner of this fight will more than likely be right in the hunt as a top contender alongside BJ Penn, Joe Stevenson and others.

(Sidenote: FightNetwork.com is reporting that there was an apparent staph outbreak at the Miletich training facility in Bettendorf, Iowa, which also claimed former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia and Drew McFedries.)

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Damn is this really the matchup. Kenflo is cool with great skills but i agreed that i thought Stout would have been a good replacement. All well Florian vs Thomas will be awesome. I forsee Florian taking the win.

by Thor1982 on Aug 7, 2007 3:31 PM EDT reply actions  

So beautiful…Nuff said….

by MasterMinDz on Aug 7, 2007 3:31 PM EDT reply actions  

Zoolander wit the big “W” on fightnight.

by PhilQNY on Aug 7, 2007 3:33 PM EDT reply actions  

Go Florian

by Likwid on Aug 7, 2007 3:42 PM EDT reply actions  

Matches like these are what we long to see. Both are top five in my standings with Florian at # 3 and Din Thomas right behind him at # 4. This will show who in fact is ready to take that next step and stand in line for their shot after Penn and Stevenson. I cannot wait. While Sam Stout would have made a solid replacement, the possibility of losing to Thomas would not bode well for him (two straight loses). Dana should throw Stout a bone in Alvin Robinson haha. Or somewhat challenge him with Doug Evans who was TKO’d by Huerta.

by Kevin Kelly on Aug 7, 2007 3:43 PM EDT reply actions  

Id still like to see Fisher vs. Thomas, but this is a GREAT matchup.
I think Thomas is gonna knock Kenny right tfo. Din’s hands are prolly the strongest in the 155lb divions (especially now since Guillard is gone daddy gone, and Fisher is playing Sega Fishing.)

by Luppers on Aug 7, 2007 3:49 PM EDT reply actions  

Florian wins via TripleDeckerPeckerWrecker Submisission..(there is no way to get out of it).

by PhilQNY on Aug 7, 2007 3:50 PM EDT reply actions  

Damn is this really the matchup. Kenflo is cool with great skills but i agreed that i thought Stout would have been a good replacement. All well Florian vs Thomas will be awesome. I forsee Florian taking the win.

The same Sam Stout that Kenny took down and choked out in less than 1 minute?? This is a good fight

by MMA Dude on Aug 7, 2007 3:51 PM EDT reply actions  

I like this fight better than the Fisher-Thomas fight. Spencer fisher is coming of a loss to Hermes then a win to a fighter who isnt that good at all Stout. Kenflo is coming dominating performances and Thomas is also coming of dominating performances. This should be a good fight and i see it being a war and i cant really decide whos gonna win.

by Kevin on Aug 7, 2007 3:52 PM EDT reply actions  

i hope thomas wins

by thenovemberact on Aug 7, 2007 3:53 PM EDT reply actions  

This will be great. Wow! the Fisher/Thomas fight was good but Florian should make it more technical. This fight will go down as one of the best

by Stafo on Aug 7, 2007 3:53 PM EDT reply actions  

The same Sam Stout that Kenny took down and choked out in less than 1 minute?? This is a good fight

I know but still it’d be a good fight vs Thomas. I think florian is gonna win this fight hands down. so maybe the Stout vs Thomas would have been a little more competitive.

by Thor1982 on Aug 7, 2007 4:01 PM EDT reply actions  

Thanks Thor1982 for agreeing with me on Stout. Whether or not Thomas faced Stout/Fisher or Florian; it is a quality fight, so I guess that is what both of us wanted and we did get a quality replacement in Florian. Florian is better than Stout and Fisher, so I guess we got too good of a replacement.

by Red on Aug 7, 2007 4:10 PM EDT reply actions  

Should be a good fight. If Kenny wins regardless, he should get BJ Penn for the title. If Thomas wins in less than convincing fashion, I’m not so sure he should get the shot.

Ken Flo (ugh, hate that) vs. BJ Penn for the title would be the sickest display of Jujitsu maybe ever.

by Mamas Boy on Aug 7, 2007 4:18 PM EDT reply actions  

Really like both of these guys so I am up in the air. Din Thomas is a whiz on the ground and has the best strikes at 155 in terms of accuracy. Kenny Florian is certainly no slouch either as he has already fought in the spotlight for the title and we all know he can take a beating just ask Sherk. This will come down to who has the better ground game I would think. I can see 60% of the fight on the floor.

If it does end on the feet, could it be a Kenny Florian kick to the head followed up by a flurry of punches ? Or will it be a 4 punch combination that puts Florian to the floor ?

Kevin “cuts” Kelly

by Kevin Kelly on Aug 7, 2007 4:42 PM EDT reply actions  

Should be a good fight. If Kenny wins regardless, he should get BJ Penn for the title. If Thomas wins in less than convincing fashion, I’m not so sure he should get the shot.

Ken Flo (ugh, hate that) vs. BJ Penn for the title would be the sickest display of Jujitsu maybe ever.

What about Joe Daddy?

by c-war on Aug 7, 2007 4:45 PM EDT reply actions  

At least Matt Hughes didnt get it. I dont think we could possibly wait any longer a for WW Title bout.

by c-war on Aug 7, 2007 4:57 PM EDT reply actions  

Wow, that should be a good fight. I like Kenny. Smarter than Zoolander, but if there is ever a movie about Ken-Flo’s life, Ben Stiller should totally get the part.

What’s up with Staph infections? I don’t train in MMA, so I couldn’t say what these guys are doing to themselves, but man, there seems to be one fighter each card that cancels because of staph!

by Freddy on Aug 7, 2007 5:36 PM EDT reply actions  

Great fight, and one that could go either way. I give Thomas the edge in the standup department for sure, but Kenflo has a hell of a ground game. I’m 50/50 on this one.

BTW I’m glad to see Thomas getting a good high profile matchup. When people talk about the lightweights from back in the day they always bring up Pulver, Penn, and Edwards, while guys like Thomas and Uno seem forgotten. Thomas was definitely an elite lightweight back in the day, and it would be nice to see him at least get a title shot (if he beats Florian)

by Yohnstoppable on Aug 7, 2007 6:08 PM EDT reply actions  

Should be good.

by Mr. Jitters on Aug 7, 2007 6:39 PM EDT reply actions  

Nice match all for it! The LW division is so active this is a perfect example, a main event gets ruined only to be replaced moments later by a potentially better match than the original.

I can’t wait till all the divisions of the UFC are this competitive. One day it will be so competitive in each division that anyone of 5 fighters minimum could make a good challenge for the title at any one time. Thats thats 25 possible title matches at any given event. The UFC will have to get a lot bigger but I am confident it will.

Can’t wait

by Holdin Ropes on Aug 7, 2007 6:57 PM EDT reply actions  

By the way I meant that there could be a combination of a possible 25 matches for a title obviously there would only ever be two maybe three belts on the line at any single event. Just thought I would clear that up just in case.

by Holdin Ropes on Aug 7, 2007 7:02 PM EDT reply actions  

i like this match-up

by jimmy on Aug 7, 2007 9:13 PM EDT reply actions  

What about Joe Daddy?


It’s like musical chairs they way this is falling out. Daddy ain’t got no chair right now. So okay, he can get next up after the belt is claimed.

by Mamas Boy on Aug 7, 2007 10:18 PM EDT reply actions  

Great fight, and one that could go either way. I give Thomas the edge in the standup department for sure, but Kenflo has a hell of a ground game. I’m 50/50 on this one.

BTW I’m glad to see Thomas getting a good high profile matchup. When people talk about the lightweights from back in the day they always bring up Pulver, Penn, and Edwards, while guys like Thomas and Uno seem forgotten. Thomas was definitely an elite lightweight back in the day, and it would be nice to see him at least get a title shot (if he beats Florian)

Yeah I give ground game 50/50, I have seen Din against Penn, the short while on the ground he kept Penn busy, and did a good job of defending the subs penn was throwing up from the bottom. I also give him stand up. I put my money for this match on Thomas for sure. Think Kenny will meet his match, def don’t see him submitting Thomas, and I agree, Thomas was one of the few great elite fighters pack in the begining days of the lightweight division, I think that should be kept in mind.

by The Anomaly on Aug 7, 2007 10:29 PM EDT reply actions  

Wow, that should be a good fight. I like Kenny. Smarter than Zoolander, but if there is ever a movie about Ken-Flo’s life, Ben Stiller should totally get the part.

What’s up with Staph infections? I don’t train in MMA, so I couldn’t say what these guys are doing to themselves, but man, there seems to be one fighter each card that cancels because of staph!

From what I gather, it’s just from “unsanitary” mats. It’s big among wrestlers to get ring worm and staph.

by Matt on Aug 8, 2007 9:28 AM EDT reply actions  

man, this is such a good matchup, I don’t even know who should be considered the favorite. I can make a great arguement for both of them.

by ViolentMike on Aug 8, 2007 9:53 AM EDT reply actions  

Since the Joe Stevenson fight and the Din Thomas / Kenny Florian fight ar basically 3 weeks apart, most likely we will see a # 1 contender fight between Stevenson and the winner of Fight Night 11 maybe in December or January. It would be nice to have it on New Year’s Eve to go along with Hughes / Serra.

by Kevin Kelly on Aug 8, 2007 9:54 AM EDT reply actions  

Florian wins via TripleDeckerPeckerWrecker Submisission..(there is no way to get out of it).

Classic.

Should be a good fight regardless of the ‘wrecker.’

by D Dogg on Aug 8, 2007 11:59 AM EDT reply actions  

I think Kenny will win no worries, he brings a good pace and excellent elbows and submission skills. Kenny in the 2nd Round. Kenny said he wanted to be the only pick for the belt. Bit of a shame from Fisher though.

by Scotty Knock on Aug 8, 2007 12:04 PM EDT reply actions  

I think Kenny will win no worries, he brings a good pace and excellent elbows and submission skills. Kenny in the 2nd Round. Kenny said he wanted to be the only pick for the belt. Bit of a shame from Fisher though.

Dude, it seems to me you don’t know much about Din Thomas.

by The Anomaly on Aug 9, 2007 7:38 PM EDT reply actions  

wow i was just upset when i read spencer fisher wasn’t going to be fighting din thomas anymore, but now i’m even more excited than i was before, this fight is going to be a war, and its gonna decide a lot in the lw title picture, i don’t know who i’m gonna pick yet, but i’m leaning towards din thomas right now…

by tha spida on Aug 16, 2007 2:19 PM EDT reply actions  

Wicked elbows and gr8 BJJ, I go with KenFlo

by Dirtbag on Aug 31, 2007 1:57 PM EDT reply actions  

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