UFC 136 Results: What Did Kenny Florian Do Wrong Against Jose Aldo?

Three strikes and you’re out.

Kenny Florian fought for a UFC championship for the third time at UFC 136 and for the third time, he failed.

Florian put up a hell of a fight against featherweight champion Jose Aldo, but once again was unable to do enough to earn his spot in UFC history.

In all of his past losses, it has been easy to find what went wrong for “Kenflo.”  Whether it was his lack of takedown defense against guys like Gray Maynard and Sean Sherk, or his poor game plan he used against BJ Penn, it always seemed like we never got the best Kenny Florian when there as something on the line.

This fight was far more interesting because Kenny actually came in with a decent game plan, executed it as well as he could have and had Aldo guessing throughout the fight.

Florian used a strong clinch game to bully Aldo against the fence frequently and used his length to keep the champion out of striking distance, easily winning the first round of the fight.

Aldo adjusted and started becoming more aggressive, but Florian was right there with him throughout the fight, putting the pressure on him and forcing Aldo to adjust to what he wanted to do.

So why did Kenny lose the fight when it seemed like he had everything he wanted to happen going for him?

Wrestling.

It has been Florian’s Achilles' heel in every single one of his losses and it proved to be no different this time around. Florian was constantly looking to gain top control over Aldo, but was unable to get the fight to the mat.

Aldo has some serious takedown defense, which Kenny undoubtedly knew going in to the fight, but Florian’s supposed strength and size advantage should have made it easier for him to drag Aldo to the mat.

Kenny Florian didn’t choke last night. He didn’t even do anything wrong. He just didn’t have the wrestling to take down Jose Aldo, which ended up costing him a UFC title.

This is probably the last title fight we will see Kenny Florian get in the UFC and might even be the last time we see him in the Octagon at all. Either way, Florian finally put it all together and fought his fight in a UFC title fight.

It just wasn’t good enough.