UFC 136 Jose Aldo vs. Kenny Florian: Is This Florian's Last Title Shot?

They say that no matter how many times the cowboy falls off the horse, if he consistently picks himself up and hops back on the saddle he will eventually become the sheriff.

Unfortunately, Kenny Florian isn’t a cowboy and the Ultimate Fighting Championship does not operate like an old Western film.

Florian is one of the UFC’s most devastatingly talented fighters with some of the most finishes on his UFC record. However, when it comes to winning the big one, the Bostonian is currently 0-2 in title fights and hasn’t looked impressive in those defeats.

Saturday night, as part of the UFC 136 co-main event, Florian gets a rare third chance at capturing UFC gold when he takes on featherweight champion Jose Aldo.

It is a challenging task in itself to earn a single title shot in the UFC—unless you’re a former professional wrestler that shoots prairie dogs in your off time—but being booked in three after two previous failed attempts is an impressive task.

Florian has had to clean out his division not once but twice in order to receive an initial shot against Sean Sherk for the vacant lightweight crown and a second opportunity against former champion BJ Penn.

Starting out as a middleweight on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter, Florian eventually dropped down to 170 lbs., then to 155 lbs., and now has made his way all the way down to the 145-pound featherweight limit.

A unanimous decision victory over top-ranked (and Jose Aldo training partner) Diego Nunes has led Florian to this anticipated bout with Aldo, but some are contemplating whether this could be the last time we see “KenFlo” competing for a major title.

Why this could be his last title shot

Florian is one of the most devoted fighters in the entire sport and if he were to lose to Aldo at UFC 136 in Houston, he absolutely would not surrender his dream of becoming a world champion. It would be incredibly tough to deal with, but it would not break Florian’s will and motivation; it would only enhance it.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, though, UFC President Dana White isn’t keen on giving out multiple opportunities if a contender loses in an unimpressive manner.

Florian has been able to work his way back into title contention before, but a third strike usually means you’re out and this may ring true if another loss is added onto Florian’s resume.

Dana White has talked about Florian’s passive approach in his previous title fights, and if Florian doesn’t leave it all on the line against Aldo, the UFC President might just deny Florian a fourth chance.

Florian would still be considered one of the elite featherweights in the organization, but he would be delegated to more of a gatekeeper role, to build up up future contenders and weed out the pretenders.

Why he could be given a fourth shot

A problem would present itself if Florian is defeated by the Brazilian Jose Aldo and then went on to run through every top contender in the featherweight division. Three title failures or not, it would be nearly impossible to deny Florian a fourth opportunity if that were the case.

This is what Florian did after dominant losses to Sherk and Penn. He went back to the drawing board, started working with different coaches, and smashed everyone in front of him until the UFC had no choice but to grant him another chance.

The featherweight division is not nearly as talent-rich as the lightweight division, so Florian shouldn’t have much of a problem working his way back up the food chain.

The fact is, Aldo hasn’t been tested yet, whereas Florian has been through it all. We can talk for hours about the “what if’s,” but it isn’t out of the realm of possibility for Florian to finally capture UFC gold at UFC 136.

Mitch Ciccarelli is the sexiest featured columnist on B/R MMA and a United States Airman. Follow Ciccarelli on Twitter  @mitchciccarelli

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