Who’s Your “Daddy” Kenny Florian?

All the hype and talk of UFC 91 is Randy Couture vs Brock Lesnar but we want to take a step back and look at what will be the “Fight of the Night” for UFC 91 and it isn’t the main event.  Kenny Florian vs Joe Stevenson presents an exciting match for UFC 91 and one I personally am looking forward to.  Both fighters looking to make their case to fight for the title against BJ Penn.  Joe already has fought BJ Penn and lost so a win for K Flo over Joe will be big for Kenny to make a case to be next in line to fight BJ Penn.

We’ll take a look at what Kenny has to say about his upccoming fight. Thanks to Fight Hype for the interview with Kenny Florian.

PC: How is preparation going for your fight with Joe Stevenson at UFC 91?

KF: Real good man. Everything is right on schedule. My weight is great, my training is going phenomenal and we’re getting a lot of great people in here to train with. I couldn’t ask for a better camp.

PC: How does Joe differ from your last 2 or 3 opponents?

KF: He’s tough man. He’s tough everywhere. A lot of people are comparing him to a Sean Sherk. He’s short, strong and compact and is a good wrestler with great submission skills. He’s really good on the ground. He even has better submission skills than Sherk. He’s probably not as fast, but is definitely better on the ground than Sherk. He’s got phenomenal submissions and he’s taking people out left and right with his guillotine. He’s an Ultimate Fighter winner and has been around the game for a long time. He’s very experienced so I want to see how far I’ve come.

PC: You like throwing hard elbows from inside your opponent’s guard. With his dangerous guillotine choke, is it imperative that you not overcommit and get your head caught in there?

KF: The key is going to be the way that I position my head. I have to make sure it doesn’t get off to the side of his body where he could just snatch it up and go for that guillotine. I’ll have to use a lot of good posture and work my ground and pound without getting wreckless.

PC: Joe let me know that he feels the biggest difference in this fight will be raw strength. What do you feel will be the difference that separates you guys?

KF: I think the fact that I’m more well-rounded than he is. I think I have a longer reach and I’m more well-rounded. I think I can beat him everywhere. For me, even in the wrestling because everyone says his wrestling is so good, but I want to test that too. I want to see if he could take me down. I’m ready. I’ve trained very hard and I’m looking forward to this fight.

PC: Both of you guys have fought for the title. You fought Sherk and he fought Penn. Who do you feel gained the most experience in your title shot defeats?

KF: The Sherk fight really made me a completely different fighter. Joe Stevenson was pretty much the same fighter. He’s already been fighting for a long time. I was still very new to the game when I fought Sherk. I wasn’t doing a quarter of the things I’m doing now, nor did I have the training I have now. I’m a completely different fighter because of that and I think I gained more experience going 5 rounds with Sherk in my loss than he did going 2 or 3 rounds with BJ. He never even really got a chance to get going and I learned a lot of what I need to do. I had to get stronger, my wrestling had to get better and I had to get my feet quicker so I think I learned more.

PC: A lot of people felt you would be fighting for that title again by now. What keeps you patient through this entire process?

KF: For me, I’ve always taken it one fight at a time. I’ve never looked ahead. I take every fight seriously. I never try to jump the gun. I take it one fight at a time and I’m just glad I’m fighting in the UFC against top competition because that’s what I want to do. Every fight is a risk and I have to keep on winning. I’ll just keep taking it one fight at a time and work my way to the title whenever it comes.

Great interview by our friends at Fight Hype.  This is personally a fight that I am looking forward to next Saturday and think it will be a great fight to watch.  Obviously the draw is for Couture vs Lesnar but fans will be surprised when they see this fight.

I think Kenny Florian is on his road to fight BJ and will do so after a win from this fight.  It’s inevitable if he wins this.  There’s no way Dana or Joe Silva can not put him against BJ Penn for the title.  He would clearly deserve a shot after he wins against Joe Stevenson.  If it’s not clear, I think Kenny will win his fight next Saturday against Joe.

As like UFC 90, MMA Chump will be doing live play by play audio broadcast on YouCastr for you to get your live results. You can even join in during the broadcast and talk with us during pre-fight and post fight talks.

Last 3 posts by Mat Houchens

• Gina Carano is Back! Carano vs Cyborg August 15
• Kimbo Slice on TUF 10
• Affliction 3 Press Conference June 1

Similar Posts

• ESPN MMA Live Episode 28
• ESPN MMA Live Episode 17
• UFC 91 Replay Peaks 3.3 Million Viewers