For those that saw the last UFC pay-per-view you witnessed what seemed to be a very small and less tan version of Joe Rogan doing the post fight interviews. I, too, was confused until I realized that it was, in fact, Kenny "Ken-Flo" Florian taking over for Rogan (who reportedly had a personal emergency he had to attend to).
While Florian did a fine job of commenting on the fights and proving that Frank Mir isn't the only mixed martial artist that can form intelligible sentences, it did make me think: Is there anywhere we don't see Kenny Florian?
After achieve a small level of recognition as the guy that cut Chris Leben with an elbow then losing to Diego Sanchez on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, Kenny Florian went on a rampage, racking up 3 dominating wins in a row before losing to Sean Sherk for the vacant lightweight title.
He has since won his last 4 fights in decisive manner and is in line for a number 1 contender match, if not an outright title shot.
Of course, there are other places that Florian appears. If you are a subscriber to any mixed martial arts magazines, you have no doubt seen either pictures of or references to Kenny Florian in issue after issue. From Florian's diet to his training, tips on Florian's regimen can be seen just about anywhere one looks for MMA information.
While I have nothing against Kenny, seeing as how I think he is a great fighter and a solid commentator, I am starting to wonder, aren't there other fighters in MMA that we can read about, or see, or hear? Does KenFlo have better PR or a incentive laden contract?
Personally, at this point I am more curious about striking tips from Anderson Silva (there was a recent article on elbow strikes that was excellent) and grappling tips from Minotauro or BJ. I can appreciate that there is a fighter that embodies many aspects of the sport, but I think that many people would be more interested in tips from the champs... or even former champs.
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2 months ago
I have kind of noticed the ken flo saturation as well. I think you just have to tip your cap to his agent/business manager for doing one hell of a job.
On ken flo's web site it says his business manager/agent is Ron Weinberg. I did a little research on him and it seems as if he's involved in a lot of different business avenues. Talent management is only one of them. One web site I found lists Florian, Mark Dellagrotte, and a fitness trainer as the only talent that is managed by weinberg.
Obviously with less clients he can devote more time and energy to florian, whereas a guy like monte cox is probably running around with his head cut off. That could be part of the reason.
from 2 months ago
Again, not that I have anything against KenFlo, I just want to keep all this in mind should I ever need an agent.
2 months ago
Well, it is better to get used to all the attention on him sooner rather than later. I think he will beat Huerta at UFC 87 and then get the winner of Sherk-Penn. Hopefully Penn gets revenge for the Lauzon defeat and teaches Florian a thing or two about "finishing fights."
He has no doubt improved temendously over the past couple of years, but I think there are a number of fighters at 155 who could beat him or at least give him a lot of trouble. Stevenson, Maynard, Diaz, Pellegrino, Guida, Griffin, Aurelio, Danzig, Franca, Edgar, Fisher, Stout, Gamburyan, Tavares, and Wiman, Miller, Clementi and Stephens all have a shot at beating Florian; some with a better chance than others.
Florian will not become the champion and will be humbled soon enough, so don't worry. The fanboys will be out in force when he faces Huerta. But Florian is an excellent commentator and always provides an exciting fight, not to mention he comes prepared for battle with a strong will and plenty of heart, so I think he deserves some of the attention that he is getting.
2 months ago
kenflo is one of my fav fighters, very talented and skilled fighter,
2 months ago
i love his entrances with the samarai outfit. i think hes a cool cat and im a fan. ive heard him give fight picks on mma radio shows and have seen a lotta stories about him but its no big deal to me as long as hes WINNING. if he starts losing fights then thats a different story. i dont count the loss to sherk on the juice.
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