Kenny Florian's Career Could Be Over

UFC lightweight and featherweight title challenger Kenny Florian may see his career as a mixed-martial-artist come to an end after suffering a back injury, according to an interview with the Boston Herald.

The 35-year-old suffered a lumbar herniated disc in his lower back while weight training late last year. A unsuccessful attempt at winning the 145-pound title against reigning champion Jose Aldo in October had Florian considering a move back to lightweight.

“It’s possible, unfortunately,” Florian said. “I’ve kind of been going back-and-forth with some of the doctors, so it’s possible. I’m going to see. As of right now, obviously I can’t compete and train like I was at all. I’m just kind of doing what I can and hoping that things heal up and get better. I’m just kind of in a holding pattern. That’s why I decided to do this commentary for the time being and take this next six months to really heal up and try to make some money on the side. It sucks. The last couple of months I’ve just been figuring out what’s going on and what I’m going to do.”

If Florian is unable to continue competing due to the injury, there will always be a career as a commentator for the UFC. It's something he has done before, and many fans like to hear a new voice every once and a while. Events where Florian has commentated include UFC 83, Ultimate Fight Night 19 and UFC 134. He also has done commentator work for the WEC.

“It’s not good,” Florian continued. “That’s why I’m trying to stay hopeful. We’ll see. I’ve been out here in (Los Angeles) doing this show every week for ‘UFC Tonight’ for Fuel TV and doing some other things. I’m just hoping that it can heal up and get better and then see if I can go back to doing what I was doing. So far, I still need to rest. If I go to do something physical, I’m just not able to do it. That pain is coming back.”

Florian's record stands at 14-6 with wins over Clay Guida, Takanor Gomi, Joe Stevenson, Roger Huerta, Joe Lauzon and Sam Stout. His attempts at UFC titles came against BJ Penn, Sean Sherk and Aldo.