UFC 91 Preview: Kenny Florian vs. Joe Stevenson

This is the fourth installment of the Ropes, Ring and Cage UFC 91 preview, airing live on PPV this Saturday from Las Vegas, NV.

Every day, RRC will provide background and analysis on one of the televised bouts. On Friday, we'll look at the main event: Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar.

Kenny Florian (10-3) vs. Joe Stevenson (29-8) (lightweights)

On Florian 

A near-lifer in the UFC, the Westwood, Mass., native came to the forefront during the inaugural season of "The Ultimate Fighter", losing to Diego Sanchez in the finals.

Since then, Florian and his elbows of doom have been on a mission, compiling a 10-3 record.

After losing to Sanchez in April of 2005, Florian kept on a regular schedule, defeating Alex Karalexis, Kit Cope and Sam Stout before dropping a unanimous decision to Sean Sherk in a match for the then vacant—Lightweight Championship—in October 2006.

Not letting it stop him, the 32-year-old (pictured above) has won five straight, with submission wins over Dojo Mishima, Alvin Robinson and Din Thomas, a TKO win over Joe Lauzon and a unanimous decision over Roger Huerta in August of this year.

The level of competition for Florian has increased and it won't get any easier this Saturday against Joe Stevenson.

He's a college graduate (academic All-American soccer player at Boston College), a black belt in BJJ and also co-hosts ESPN.com's MMA Live. Six of his wins have come by way of submission, favoring the rear naked choke.

On Stevenson

If there's one thing you can say about Joe "Daddy" Stevenson, it's that he's experienced, even at 26 years of age. Coming into this fight, Stevenson sports a 29-8 record, having fought professionally since May 1999.

He fought mainly on the West Coast, winning the 155-pound title in both the King of the Cage and Gladiator Challenge before getting onto the second season of "The Ultimate Fighter."

After defeating Luke Cummo by unanimous decision in that season's finale, the Torrance, Calif., native had a setback with a unanimous decision loss to Josh Neer in April 2006.

He then went on to win four in a row, defeating Yves Edwards by TKO, Doko Mishima and Melvin Guillard by guillotine choke and Kurt Pellegrino via unanimous decision.

Stevenson got a crack at the Lightweight title (vacated by Sherk due to his steroid test) and lost a bloody affair to BJ Penn via second round rear naked choke submission in January of this year.

We last saw him defeat Gleison Tibau with a second-round guillotine choke submission in July. He comes into this fight as a freshly-crowned black belt in BJJ, having garnered the honor last week.

Breakdown

So here we are: a match-up of two of the UFC's top lightweights where both guys are trying to get back into position for a title shot.

Both have great submission skills, having won a combined 19 fights via the tapout. At 5'10", Florian has a three-inch height advantage and the reputation of his elbow strikes speak for themselves.

However, Stevenson's experience at his age is unmatched and the variety of his opponents have made for some good matches.

Is he mentally fully recovered from his blood-drenched loss to Penn? We hope so, as one strike from 'Ken-Flo' could open up a nasty gash that will bring those memories flooding back, no pun intended.

This is a tough fight to pick, but based on Florian's latest win over Roger Huerta, we think momentum is on his side. Regardless, this battle of BJJ black belts is going to be awesome.

RRC Prediction

Florian via unanimous decision.

>Wednesday: Hazelett vs. McCrory

>Tuesday: Gonzaga vs. Hendricks

>Monday: Quarry vs. Maia

Josh Nason has written and maintained Ropes, Ring and Cage since 2007 and can be reached at [e-mail]. If you are using any content or recapping from this site, please include a link to www.ropesringandcage.com. Thank you for your support!