fights has been both entertaining and – more impor-
tantly – informative, with the goal of educating the
layman on the art of the fight.
“I think anyone ‘gets it’ when they see a fighter throw
a punch, an elbow or whatever, but it’s the grappling
that requires more detailed explanation and educa-
tion,” Florian explains. “There are so many nuances,
so I enjoy delving into the grappling. I mean, I enjoy
the striking too, obviously, so try not to have a bias,
but I do make sure to give credit to the ground guys
and educate people as to what is going on if I can.
‘I’ve not done commentary for a while but, to be
candid, I do think it’s lacking a little in terms of
addressing the ground game. There’s not enough
being communicated; we use words like ‘explo-
sive’ and ‘strong’ too much, instead of explaining
control and positioning. If people don’t ‘get it’,
they’re of course going to boo when they just see
two people hugging on the ground.”
The 4oz gloves may have been thrown out in the
trash, but Florian is a true martial artist, and we know
the journey has no ending. Stepping away from com-
petition has allowed for a return to jiu jitsu, with the
kimono being the emphasis. Social media has often
shown Florian training with the likes of Ryan Hall and
other notable BJJ aficionados, confirming his love af-
fair with the art is alive and well.
“It’s really fascinating to me,’ says Florian on the
evolution of jiu jitsu. “One of the things that made
me fall in love with jiu jitsu is the non-stop evolu-
tion. I guess that’s the nature of combat; if you’re
still trying to shoot a bow and arrow at a dude with
a pistol, you’re going to be in trouble. The game
is always changing and I think that, to a certain
extent, jiu jitsu is similar to engineering. You start
out with a basic product and then over the years
the athletes have been refining processes and
making things more efficient.”
Jiu jitsu’s role in MMA, like the sport itself, is in a
state of constant evolution. Royce Gracie proved
that jiu jitsu is a necessity, with fighters no longer ne-
glecting the groundwork; the playing field is as level
as it’s ever been. So, now everyone does jiu jitsu,
what does KenFlo think of ‘modern’ jiu jitsu and its
potential to shape the MMA landscape once again?
“I actually think that sometimes we throw things
away that we don’t completely understand,” Florian
states. “You know, some of the new stuff could work
in MMA – who’s actually going out there trying to
use it? I think for the street application of jiu jitsu,
then you’re not really looking to pull guard, but in
MMA, I still think there’s a lot to explore. I don’t
know if some of the more modern stuff will trans-
late, but I don’t know if it won’t either. Like I say, we
haven’t really seen people try and apply it readily
as of yet. There’s a lot of research and development
to be done.“I expect to see the innovations in the leglock game
transition over to mixed martial arts that’s for sure;
I’m surprised it hasn’t yet, actually. Some people, like
Ryan Hall and Rousimar Palhares, have been doing it,
but even someone like Palhares has probably refined
his technique hugely over the last few years. Obvious-
ly the (John) Danaher guys have really been refining
things at their gym, so, yeah, I think we will see more
of that style implemented into MMA.”At the age of 40, Florian recently decided it was time
to dust off his competition kimono. After entering a
couple of regional IBJJF events, he was invited to Abu
Dhabi to face the legendary Vitor ‘Shaolin’ Ribeiro.
Having been away from competitive jiu jitsu for essen-
tially his whole career, you could have forgiven Florian
for turning down this match. After all, facing Shaolin, a
former world champion who has been active on the jiu
jitsu scene, is a huge fight for anyone.But KenFlo is on a martial path of development; it’s all
about getting better: “I mean, talking right after this
match with Shaolin, I’m upset, but it’s all fun. At the end
of the day, it’s about improving - even if things were dif-
ferent and I tapped out Shaolin. I think if you’d caught
me in this scenario a year ago I would have been way
more pissed, and probably wouldn’t have wanted to
talk about it (laughs).“Nowadays I have a much better perspective on it
and I believe it’s all in the journey of a martial artist:
it’s a rollercoaster, and that’s what life is. Sometimes
we have this idea that we can control the chaos, but
you can’t, so life will throw what it can at you and
it’s up to you to make the best of that. I’ll learn a lot
from this loss, and I’ll definitely try and use it to make
me better.”There’s much to be learned from such an amazing
attitude in an environment where we can easily get
carried away with the significance of ‘the win’. Kenny
Florian has fought the toughest athletes on the big-
gest stages, but when you get down to the nuts and
bolts, it’s his journey that is valued the most.“DANA WANTED
TO RECRUIT DREW
FICKETT FOR THE
FIRST SEASON
OF THE ULTIMATE
FIGHTER. AFTER
THE FIGHT, HE
SAID, ‘HEY KID,
I THOUGHT YOU
WERE GOING TO
GET YOUR ASS
KICKED’”