UFC: Kenny Florian to Face Diego Nunes in Featherweight Debut at UFC 131

UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo should probably pump the brakes on any thoughts of moving up to lightweight because his work at featherweight is far from finished.

"I'm very excited to announce that I'm going to be [making my featherweight debut against] Diego Nunes," UFC lightweight Kenny Florian said on ESPN's MMA Live. "We'll be getting it on June 11 in Vancouver."

Florian, who is considered one of the best lightweights in the world, is a major addition to the featherweight division. Despite coming up short in championship bouts against B.J. Penn and Sean Sherk, Florian has maintained his status as a perennial contender.

His decision to move to featherweight was based off hopes of finding a new challenge and possibly securing a superfight with Aldo.

"I've never been afraid of a new challenge. I see it as a good opportunity to face, in my opinion, one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, Jose Aldo," Florian said. "He's a tremendous fighter, and I've got a lot of respect for him. I still have an opponent before I get there, but there's a lot of excitement in that division."

Since moving to lightweight in June 2006, Florian has picked up significant wins over notable names such as Takanori Gomi, Clay Guida, Joe Stevenson, Roger Huerta and Joe Lauzon. In his last outing, Florian lost a convincing unanimous decision in a No. 1 contender's bout at UFC 118 against Gray Maynard.

After dropping a unanimous decision to LC Davis, Nunes has picked up three straight victories over Mike Brown, Tyler Toner and Raphael Assuncao. He may constantly be considered an underdog, but Nunes' recent performances have skyrocketed him to the top of the division and places him a fight or two away from a featherweight title shot.

UFC 131 is scheduled to take place at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The heavyweight showdown between Brock Lesnar and Junior Dos Santos is rumored as the headliner for the card.

(SportsHaze.com Original)