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KENNY FLORIAN
Nickname KenFlo, The Machinist
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight 155 lb (70 kg/11.1 st)
Born May 26, 1976
Fighting out of Boston, Massachusetts
Town of birth Westwood, Massachusetts
Team/Association Team Sityodtong
Fighting style Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai
Mixed martial arts record
Wins 10
By knockout 3
By submission 6
Losses 3
Kenny " Ken Flo" Florian was born on May 26, 1976 in Westwood, Massachusetts. He is an American mixed martial artist with a background in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai. He is best known for his appearance on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter reality show where he lost the middleweight final to Diego Sanchez. Florian currently fights as a lightweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
He holds notable wins over Alex Karalexis, Sam Stout, Alvin Robinson, Dokonjonosuke Mishima, Din Thomas, Joe Lauzon, and Roger Huerta.
Florian was born in Westwood, Massachusetts. His parents were from Peru and his family is a mix Armenian, French, German, Italian and Spanish descent.
As a child, Florian excelled in many sports including soccer, tennis, and the martial arts. In high school and college, he focused mainly on soccer and put the martial arts aside. He played soccer at Boston College, and earned Big-East academic all-star status. He graduated with a degree in Communications.
After college, his interests turned towards mixed martial arts, and he earned a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from Prof. Roberto Maia of Boston Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (Gracie Barra Boston).
Kenny is known for his elbow strikes, which Joe Rogan describes as "razor sharp".
Florian made his MMA debut fight in January 2003 at Mass Destruction 10, defeating Jason Giroux via TKO (strikes). Kenny made another appearance in the Mass Destruction Promotion at MD - 15 and brought home a sweet victory over Bobby McAndrews by a submission (kimura). Following those victories, Kenny suffered his first loss to UFC regular Drew Fickett via decision at Combat Zone 7-Gravel Pit on July 10, 2004.
Kenny went on to compete on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter as a middleweight, losing at the finale in the first round to Sanchez due to strikes.
Following his loss to Sanchez, Florian returned at the first Ultimate Fight Night to defeat fellow TUF 1 competitor Alex Karalexis with a vicious cut across the nose. Picking up momentum, Kenny went on to face Muay Thai competitor Kit Cope, winning with a rear naked choke submission early in round 2. Florian earned a title shot after defeating Canadian TKO Lightweight champion Sam Stout at The Ultimate Fighter 3 season finale; Florian won in the first round by rear naked choke.
On October 14, 2006, Florian fought Sean Sherk for the UFC Lightweight championship title at UFC 64: Unstoppable and lost via unanimous decision.
On April 5, 2007, at UFC Fight Night 9 Florian defeated Japanese fighter Dokonjonosuke Mishima via rear naked choke submission. In the interview after this fight, Florian can be seen pretending to drink Xyience energy drink. The can was clearly unopened.
On July 7, 2007, at UFC 73, he defeated UFC newcomer Alvin Robinson via submission due to strikes in the first round.
In one of Florian's more recent fights he managed to get another win via submission due to a rear naked choke against Din Thomas at UFC Fight Night 11. Thomas injured his knee while attempting a takedown during the bout. Thomas was originally slated to face off against Spencer Fisher, but Fisher had to pull out due to a staph infection. Florian took his place.
On April 2, 2008 Florian next defeated the young up and comer Joe Lauzon at UFC Fight Night 13 by TKO Strikes from Mount, early on in just the 2nd round to secure his spot among the UFC's Top Light Weight Contenders.
On April 19, Florian filled in for Joe Rogan as the color commentator for UFC 83.
At UFC 87 on August 9, 2008 Florian defeated Roger Huerta by unanimous decision. Next up will be Joe Stevenson at UFC 91 on November 15th.
He currently hosts an online show called MMA Live for ESPN.com.
Source: Wikipedia
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