Kenny Florian's last Hurrah for the title

Subject: Kenny Florian's last Hurrah for the title Thu Oct 06, 2011 3:47 pm

Read this or watch the video here:

http://espn.go.com/blog/mma/post?id=4622

Quote :: Fight week is here. I face Jose Aldo for the featherweight title in Houston at UFC 136 on Saturday. This is my third go-around the block to win a UFC belt, but I'm in a completely different mindset right now compared to when I previously fought for the UFC championship as a lightweight.

There have been times in the past where I have become overly nervous and anxious ahead of title shots. I went into those fights asking myself, “Do I really deserve this shot? Am I really the second best guy in the world right now?” On the flip-side, I've had other fights that I've gone into and been almost overconfident. It can sometimes be difficult striking a balance between the two mindsets.

I believe I am in a great place right now in my career. I have a great team behind me and am training with some of the very best fighters in the world. These are guys that are fighting at a very high level in the UFC and elsewhere. I never really had that same level of experience and expertise ahead of my previous title shots. Sure, I trained as well as I could and made the most of everything at my disposal, but I never went into those title fights with the same level of confidence I have right now. This is confidence born from knowing I have been to all the places I need to go to in training and then come out the other side with a smile on my face.

I feel like I've covered all bases now, in terms of my skill-set, my conditioning and, of course, my experience. Experience is vital in any situation, and I've been here before. I've had my back against the wall and I've been an underdog. None of this is new to me. I won't be shaken by anything anybody says in the buildup to this fight with Jose Aldo on Saturday. If people think he's going to beat me, that's fine. I've heard it all before. I've been written off many times in the past and I now know how to deal with that. The days of me doubting myself and worrying ahead of fights are long gone.

Having self-belief, real trust in myself rather than being overconfident, is the main difference this time. Aldo is a great fighter, but I can match him standing and I can more than hold my own in BJJ. Having the confidence in myself to go 100 percent is going to be the real difference in this, my third shot at the belt.

I'm a completely different fighter to the one that showed up against B.J. Penn and Sean Sherk in previous title shots. If you really go back and look at the statistics before those fights, I was a guy with just eight fights to my name before fighting Sherk. It was only my second fight as a lightweight. Sherk, on the other hand, boasted over 40 fights to his name and had been fighting for much longer than I had. That was a ridiculous situation in hindsight, and I feel I was not ready for that level or position back then. The shot came way too early but the division wasn’t as stacked as it is today and my turn came quickly.

Yes, I had more experience by the time I faced Penn, but I was still far less experienced than B.J. was. He'd been fighting for much longer than I had and was competing at a title level for years. More than that, though, I didn't even have a jab when I fought B.J. My boxing skills weren't that great and BJ has one of the best jabs in the UFC. I had nothing to stop him from jabbing at me, that was a huge factory in the loss, and my wrestling skills were also a lot worse than they are at the moment. I was half the fighter I am now.

Seems a lot of people like to say “Kenny Florian -- that guy chokes in the big fights,” but it is simply not true.

You have to look at fights in context and not just oversimplify stuff. There is a reason to each and every loss I have, and the fights need to be looked at in the context of my whole career. I have never choked in a fight. Each and every fight -- whether victory or defeat – has been part of a greater learning experience. I'm still learning and working things out today. Nobody in mixed martial arts, not Anderson Silva, Jon Jones or anyone else, has figured this sport out yet. We are all still striving to improve and find the answers.

This is possibly my last shot at a UFC title -- I know that. Thinking about things realistically, I may not get another chance if I fail to come through with this one. That's not something I try to think about too much, though. All I'm thinking about right now is taking this opportunity against Aldo with both hands and then going out and showing the world I can beat a guy that I seriously believe I can beat …

Subject: Re: Kenny Florian's last Hurrah for the title Thu Oct 06, 2011 4:27 pm

That is a terrible tank top for any man to be wearing, it alone gives me little hope in Florian being successful Saturday night; as stupid as that sounds. lol

Subject: Re: Kenny Florian's last Hurrah for the title Thu Oct 06, 2011 4:59 pm

Heh the top does suck. You know Im kinda pulling for Kenny ... I do like his style for the most part and he can be very entertaining but goodness sakes the guy has to stop choking in the big fights..... I mean.... cmon Kenny pull it out and quit over thinking the whole thing.

Subject: Re: Kenny Florian's last Hurrah for the title Thu Oct 06, 2011 5:29 pm

Its clear that he just has to train for the fighter he is facing and not over analyze every aspect of the impending fight. It sounds like he has made that adjustment, but whether or not he says he did and he does are two different things.

His point made in regards to experience in the Sherk fight are completely valid, however every fighter on a fast rise is going to get themselves into similar situations; Jon Jones hasn't been fortunate enough to find his yet imo (just a comparison).

Aldo is one bad MF'er, I was extremely impressed by what he did with Hominick; I don't know what Kenny is going to do differently that Hominick tried. Also I am not sure Florian has the speed of Aldo with regards to striking, it should be a good fight!

Subject: Re: Kenny Florian's last Hurrah for the title Thu Oct 06, 2011 5:40 pm

lambhimself wrote:: That is a terrible tank top for any man to be wearing, it alone gives me little hope in Florian being successful Saturday night; as stupid as that sounds. lol

lmao !

Subject: Re: Kenny Florian's last Hurrah for the title Thu Oct 06, 2011 7:12 pm

Quote :: This is my third go-around the block to win a UFC belt, but I'm in a completely different mindset right now compared to when I previously fought for the UFC championship as a lightweight.

There have been times in the past where I have become overly nervous and anxious ahead of title shots. I went into those fights asking myself, “Do I really deserve this shot? Am I really the second best guy in the world right now?”

Wait a minute......so you're saying that in the past you doubted your standing in the division, and now you don't? After your 1 win at FW?

Subject: Re: Kenny Florian's last Hurrah for the title Sat Oct 08, 2011 2:33 am

I really don't see Kenny winning this fight

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