FanPost

Kenny Florian: The champion that never was

Photo by Josh Hedges via Zuffa LLC/Getty Images.

The Buffalo Bills of the 1990’s went to the Super Bowl four consecutive years from 1990 to 1993. All four times, they came up short, failing to capture a Super Bowl title. Their four year reign over the AFC division was impressive, however, they never obtained the ultimate goal in taking home the coveted Super Bowl Ring.

Many people, surprisingly, mocked the Bills for failing time after time to win a championship. However, what I always found interesting is that they never received the credit that they deserved for actually reaching the Super Bowl.

Does that not deserve some recognition in and of itself?

Then we have Kenny Florian, a humble and talented fighter who truly is one of the most respected veterans in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) today. "KenFlo" has now fought in three title fights and much like the Buffalo Bills in the early 1990’s, has failed to win the gold.

Join me after the jump, as we take a look at Florian’s journey to capture the elusive championship.

Kenny burst onto the UFC scene in the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) back in 2005 in which he fought as a middleweight. He fought his way to the finals where he eventually lost to Diego Sanchez via technical knockout.

Florian dropped to welterweight for a brief second to fight Alex Karalexis. After re-arranging Karelexis’ nose, he made the jump to lightweight. After only a two fight win streak, which included wins over Kit Cope and Sam Stout; he received a title shot for the vacant UFC lightweight championship against Sean Sherk at UFC 64 on October 14, 2006. 

The bloody fight proved to test both men’s wills as they battled tooth and nail for five rounds. When the final bell rang, a bloodied and battered Sean Sherk walked away the champion and Florian was left to start all over.

Three years and an impressive six fight win streak later, which included five finishes, Kenny Florian was once again in a position to become champion. This time, he would take on arguably the greatest lightweight in mixed martial arts (MMA) history in B.J. Penn.

After three rounds of action, it seemed as if Florian couldn’t do anything against the much more experienced Penn.  In the fourth round, "The Prodigy" turned up the heat and this time it was "KenFlo" on the recieving end of a rear naked choke. 

Once again, Florian would go home without the belt. Fans and Florian alike questioned where he should go from there.

Florian stayed in the lightweight division and racked up two consecutive submission victories over Clay Guida and former PRIDE lightweight champion Takanori Gomi.

UFC President Dana White then announced a number one contender’s fight between Kenny Florian and Gray Maynard for UFC 118.  The winner would earn the right to take on the winner of that cards main event between Frankie Edgar and BJ Penn. 

Gray Maynard controlled the entire fight with superior grappling and eventually earned a unanimous decision, spoiling Florian’s hopes for another title shot and prompting UFC President Dana White to say the Florian "chokes" in big fights.

At a crossroads in his MMA career, Florian dropped another ten pounds to compete in the newly introduced UFC featherweight division. Making his debut at UFC 131, Florian drew Diego Nunes as his debut to the new weight class. Florian earned the decision victory in a rather unimpressive debut.

Much to many fans dismay, White announced Florian would get a title shot at UFC 136 against the dangerous Brazilian Champion Jose Aldo after only one victory in his new division.

Would the third time be a charm? Would Kenny Florian finally capture the UFC gold he has worked so hard for the last seven years of his career?

Unfortunately, in MMA, there are not always fairytale endings.

After five grueling rounds, Aldo bloodied and battered Florian to prompt the judges to give "Junior" a unanimous decision victory.  Florian, once again, would go home empty handed and not complete his goal of becoming UFC champion.

From middleweight to featherweight, Florian has dropped four weight classes in hopes of capturing the title; coming up short in each of his chances.

It is uncertain where he goes from here; but one thing is for sure, Kenny Florian has the heart of champion and deserves praise for his success and not judgment for his championship match losses. Much like the NFL’s Buffalo Bills of the early 90’s, Florian was good enough to get to the big dance but never earn the title. 

Florian should not be judged on his failed attempts at gold, but rather he should be given the credit and respect he deserves for winning all the fights he needed to win in order to even reach a title fight.

Fighting in a UFC title fight is something that the majority of MMA fighters will never get the opportunity to do -- not even once.

What do you say, Maniacs, how do you rate Kenny Florian’s career up to this point?

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