Kenny Florian
UFC veteran and analyst known for four weight-class fights.
via Wikipedia: Kenny Florian · see source
Kenny Florian is a retired American mixed martial artist and commentator who fought in the UFC and later worked as an analyst for UFC on Fox and a color commentator for UFC Fight Night. He also provides commentary for the robot combat show BattleBots and is currently a commentator for the Professional Fighters League. Trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai, Florian was known for his careful, strategic fight plans and a knack for finishing fights, with twelve of his fourteen wins coming by stoppage. He is one of only two UFC fighters to compete in four weight classes—Middleweight, Welterweight, Lightweight, and Featherweight—alongside Diego Sanchez. On the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, Florian beat Chris Leben but lost the finale to Sanchez. He fought for the UFC Lightweight Championship twice, losing to Sean Sherk and B.J. Penn, and once for the Featherweight title, losing to José Aldo. Despite never winning a UFC belt, he is regarded as one of the top fighters of his era.
Quick Facts
- Birth name
- Kenneth Alan Florian
- Born
- 26 May 1976
- Birthplace
- Westwood, Massachusetts, U.S.
- Other names
- KenFlo
- Reach in
- 74
- Style
- Brazilian jiu-jitsu
- Stance
- Southpaw
- Fighting out of
- Brookline
- Massachusetts
- U.S.
Facts from the source article.
Early life
Florian is one of six children born to Peruvian parents Agustin and Ines Florian; his ancestry includes Spanish, Italian, German, French and Armenian. He grew up in Dover, Massachusetts, played soccer for Dover-Sherborn Regional High School, and later played varsity soccer at Boston College. He holds dual citizenship in the United States and Peru. After college, he earned a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu from Roberto Maia and worked as a translator before a near-death experience in Brazil led him to pursue mixed martial arts.
Mixed martial arts career
Florian made his MMA debut in January 2003 at Mass Destruction 10, defeating Jason Giroux by TKO. He later submitted Bobby McAndrews via kimura at MD–15. His first loss came to Drew Fickett by decision at Combat Zone 7, a fight that impressed Dana White and earned Florian a spot on The Ultimate Fighter. On the show, he defeated Chris Leben by cut stoppage but lost the finale to Diego Sanchez by strikes. At the first UFC Ultimate Fight Night, he defeated Alex Karalexis with a right elbow that caused a severe cut. He then submitted Kit Cope by rear naked choke and later earned a Submission of the Night award by submitting Sam Stout via rear naked choke at The Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale. Florian fought Sean Sherk for the UFC Lightweight Championship at UFC 64, losing by unanimous decision despite cutting Sherk with an elbow; the fight earned a Fight of the Night award. At UFC Fight Night 9, he submitted Dokonjonosuke Mishima by rear naked choke after escaping a knee-bar, earning another Fight of the Night award.
Color commentary career
Florian co-hosted MMA Live for ESPN.com and later co-hosted UFC Tonight on FS1 with Michael Bisping. He filled in as color commentator for Joe Rogan at UFC 83 and UFC Fight Night 19, and for Frank Mir at WEC 41. He also provided commentary for WEC 49 and The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale, and took Rogan's place at UFC 134. In 2015, he was named color commentator for ABC's revival of BattleBots alongside Chris Rose. Fox Sports briefly suspended him in January 2016 for plagiarism in a fight preview. In March 2021, he signed an exclusive deal with the Professional Fighters League as a commentator.
Personal life
Florian appeared on Dr Phil with Dana White and Forrest Griffin to discuss classroom fights. He and his brother Keith received their second-degree black belt from Roberto Maia in June 2010. They own and operate Florian Martial Arts Center in Brookline, Massachusetts. Actor Jonah Hill credited Florian with helping him become comfortable training jiu-jitsu. Florian is fluent in Spanish.
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