Kenny Florian

MMAstatsbox
name=Kenny "Ken Flo" Florian

---

nick=KenFlo, The Machinist
height=height|ft=5|in=10
weight=convert|155|lb|kg st|abbr=on|lk=on
birthdate=birth date and age|year=1976|month=5|day=26
hometown= Westwood, Massachusetts
fightingfrom= Boston, Massachusetts
fightteam= Team Sityodtong
fightstyle= Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai
wins=10
losses=3
ko=3
submissions=6|

Kenny " Ken Flo" Florian (born May 26 1976 in Westwood, Massachusetts) is an American mixed martial artist with a background in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai. He is best known for his appearance on the first season of "The Ultimate Fighter" reality show where he lost the middleweight final to Diego Sanchez. Florian currently fights as a lightweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Biography

Early life

Florian was born in Westwood, Massachusetts. His parents are from Peru and his family is a mix Armenian, French, German, Italian and Spanish descent. [Interview With Mixed Martial Artist Kenny Florian by Ben Tatar http://www.criticalbench.com/Kenny-Florian.htm]

As a child, Florian excelled in many sports including soccer, tennis, and the martial arts. In high school and college, he focused mainly on soccer and put the martial arts aside. He played soccer at Boston College, and earned Big-East academic all-star status. He graduated with a degree in Communications.

After college, his interests turned towards mixed martial arts, and he earned a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from Prof. Roberto Maia of Boston Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (Gracie Barra Boston).

Mixed martial arts career

Kenny is known for his elbow strikes, which Joe Rogan describes as "razor sharp".

Florian made his MMA debut fight in January 2003 at Mass Destruction 10, defeating Jason Giroux via TKO (strikes). Kenny made another appearance in the Mass Destruction Promotion at MD - 15 and brought home a sweet victory over Bobby McAndrews by a submission (kimura). Following those victories, Kenny suffered his first loss to UFC regular Drew Fickett via decision at Combat Zone 7-Gravel Pit on July 10 2004.

Kenny went on to compete on the first season of "The Ultimate Fighter" as a middleweight, losing at the finale in the first round to Sanchez due to strikes.

Following his loss to Sanchez, Florian returned at the first Ultimate Fight Night to defeat fellow TUF 1 competitor Alex Karalexis with a vicious cut across the nose. Picking up momentum, Kenny went on to face Muay Thai competitor Kit Cope, winning with a rear naked choke submission early in round 2. Florian earned a title shot after defeating Canadian TKO Lightweight champion Sam Stout at "The Ultimate Fighter 3" season finale; Florian won in the first round by rear naked choke.

On October 14 2006, Florian fought Sean Sherk for the UFC Lightweight championship title at "" and lost via unanimous decision.

On April 5 2007, at "UFC Fight Night 9" Florian defeated Japanese fighter Dokonjonosuke Mishima via rear naked choke submission.

On July 7 2007, at "UFC 73", he defeated UFC newcomer Alvin Robinson via submission due to strikes in the first round.

In one of Florian's more recent fights he managed to get another win via submission due to a rear naked choke against Din Thomas at "UFC Fight Night 11". Thomas injured his knee while attempting a takedown during the bout. Thomas was originally slated to face off against Spencer Fisher, but Fisher had to pull out due to a staph infection. Florian took his place.

On April 2 2008 Florian next defeated the young up and comer Joe Lauzon at UFC Fight Night 13 by TKO Strikes from Mount, early on in just the 2nd round to secure his spot among the UFC's Top Light Weight Contenders.cite web
url=http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=eventDetail.FightCard&eid=1072
title=UFC Fight Night: Kenny Florian vs Joe Lauzon
publisher=UFC.com
accessdate=2008-01-19]

On April 19, Florian filled in for Joe Rogan as the color commentator for UFC 83.

At UFC 87 on August 9 2008 Florian defeated Roger Huerta by unanimous decision. Next up will be Joe Stevenson at UFC 91 on November 15th.

He currently hosts an online show called "MMA Live" for ESPN.com. [http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3398395] Florian contributes to the show with his MMA experience and his perspective as a fighter.

Mixed martial arts record

MMArecordbox
wins=10
losses=3
ko-wins=3
ko-losses=1
sub-wins=6
sub-losses=0
dec-wins=1
dec-losses=2

References

External links

* [http://www.kennyflorian.com Official Kenny Florian Web Site]
*Sherdog|id=8021|name=Kenny Florian
* [http://www.themmadigest.com/2008/04/interview-kenny-florian-nutritionist-jesse-kropelnicki Kenny Florian's Nutritionist]
* [http://www.themmadigest.com/2008/06/kenny-florians-thoughts-on-fighting-roger-huerta-at-ufc-87/ Florian on fighting Huerta]
* [http://www.themmadigest.com/2007/08/keith-florian-weighs-in-on-kennys-training/ Keith Florian Q&A]
* [http://www.florianmartialartscenter.com Florian Martial Arts Center Web Site]