The premier season of The Ultimate Fighter showcased a
cast of future MMA stars: Josh Koscheck, Diego Sanchez,
Mike Swick, Forrest Griffin, Stephan Bonner and – of
course – Kenny Florian all frequented the first house on
the now iconic TV series. Bonner and Griffin’s light heav-
yweight final is often referred to as the most important
fight in the history of MMA. The bout was an absolute
cracker; aired live on Spike TV and endearing a whole
new audience to the beauty of proper mixed martial arts.Though the original Ultimate Fighter turned out to be
something special, Florian can’t say it felt like that as a
competitor: “Hand on heart, it really didn’t feel special at
the time. In my head, I was wondering if this piece of crap
show would even make it to cable (laughs). There was
some crazy stuff going on in the house, but I didn’t know
if people would find that interesting; turns out they did,
and of course some of the fights – Forest and Stephan
being the obvious one – really made the show a hit.”And so began the UFC boom, with KenFlo being swept
along for the ride. Life as a jiu jitsu student had to take
a back seat, along with his kimono, with the focus now
on becoming the best MMA athlete he could be. “I
think there had to be a departure from it (BJJ) in order
for me to go and learn these other skills,’ says Kenny
in reflection. “After The Ultimate Fighter, I had to stop
thinking about representing BJJ and concentrate on
becoming a complete mixed martial artist.”Despite losing out to Diego Sanchez on The Ultimate
Fighter lightweight final, Florian returned to action
with a win at Ultimate Fight Night 1 against Alex Ka-
ralexis. That win initiated a run towards Kenny’s first
title shot against Sean Sherk, which he lost by unani-
mous decision. Perhaps agonisingly, he went on to lose
two further title shots in his career: once against BJ
Penn and also to Jose Aldo, which turned out to be
Kenny’s last fight.Though a title never found its way to around his waist,
Kenny can rest assured he faced the best, looking back
on his experiences with head held high. “The Gomi
fight was really cool, because for five to seven years
he was considered the best lightweight in the world,”
says Kenny on his standout moments. “That was a fight
I always wanted, as Gomi was a guy I really admired.“I EXPECT TO SEE
THE INNOVATIONS IN
THE LEGLOCK GAME
TRANSITION OVER TO
MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
THAT’S FOR SURE”
KENNY FLORIAN
“I did enjoy fighting BJ, but that was also one of those
fights where I’d lost before I’d even gotten in there. I
hate having those kinds of excuses, but when you face
someone that you really look up to so much, you can
get yourself in trouble. For an American Brazilian jiu
jitsu guy, BJ was obviously the man, so I really did put
him on a pedestal – to my own demise. That said, I do
also believe he was just an outright better fighter at
that time; his boxing was way better and I just don’t
think I was at that level yet in my career.”Though life as a UFC fighter ended in 2011, it cer-
tainly hasn’t spelt the end of the association. Florian
has gone on to forge a successful career in the media,
working as both a studio analyst and colour commen-
tator for the UFC. His articulate approach to calling