UFC's Kenny Florian is "Go, Go, Go" Before UFC 91

Fighters.com’s seventh-ranked lightweight “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (10-3) will try to earn a title shot…again versus “Daddy” Joe Stevenson (29-7) at UFC 91 in Las Vegas Saturday.  He spoke exclusively with Fighters.com about that fight and his life outside of the Octagon.

Fighters.com: What is your greatest strength going into the Stevenson fight?  What do you think is his biggest strength against you?

Kenny Florian: Yeah, you know, hmm… I think my biggest strength is probably my versatility in this fight.  I think me being versatile, I feel like I can kinda do it all.  I feel I’m more a well-rounded fighter than him.  I feel like he’s a fighter who does mixed martial arts and I’m a mixed martial arts fighter, and I think there’s a difference in that.  And, I think his biggest strength is his experience.  He has an insane amount of experience, a lot more than myself; so, that certainly can be an advantage.

Fighters.com: Where are you training and who are you training with?   Who’s helping you prepare for your upcoming fight against Stevenson?

Kenny Florian: I do all my training here in Boston.  I train obviously with my brother, Keith, for jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts.  He’s my head trainer, along with Mark DelaGrotte, who’s my Muay Thai instructor and MMA instructor.  And, also Peter Welch for boxing, and my strength and conditioning coach, Kevin Kearns, and my nutritionist, Jesse Kropelnicki.

Fighters.com: Are you doing anything different in your training for the Stevenson fight?

Kenny Florian: It’s pretty much stayed the same.  Obviously there‘s specific things I focus on for each opponent but for the most part I’m always just trying to be as well-rounded as possible, trying to improve my game and learn as much as possible.

Fighters.com: Is the winner of this fight guaranteed a title shot by the UFC?

Kenny Florian: No, you know, I haven’t heard anything as far as that goes; and, [laughing] you know, things change so quickly with the UFC and the landscape of the lightweight division.  It’s kinda crazy right now with BJ Penn going up to welterweight and fighting; and, who knows what he’s going to do.  So, I’ve kind of just learned to take it one fight at a time and just wait and see what happens.  So, my focus really is on the Stevenson fight and after that, we’ll see.

Fighters.com: After defeating Fighters.com’s fifth-ranked lightweight “Muscle Shark” Sean Sherk (33-3-1), Lightweight Champion “Prodigy” BJ Penn (13-4-1) said at the post-fight press conference that he couldn’t get excited for a fight against the winner of Florian versus “El Matador” Roger Huerta (20-2-1).  Then, you were passed over for a title shot against Penn.  Does the UFC agree with him that Penn versus Florian isn’t an exciting fight?

Kenny Florian: Um, I’m not sure.  You know, I don’t think so.  I think it’s more that the Georges St. Pierre and BJ Penn fight is probably a more exciting fight, more than anything else.  I don’t think they feel it’s not an exciting fight.  It’s probably more that it’s exciting that you get two champions fighting each other, I believe for the first time.  So, BJ Penn and Georges St. Pierre having had a history in the past, it makes for a very marketable fight.

Fighters.com: You’ve said that you’d be happy if you had to fight once more before another title shot or ten more times, as long as they keep giving you top guys.  How content are you just to be the top contender?

Kenny Florian: You know, for me, it’s just the same.  Every fight is a risk.  I never consider myself a number one contender, or a number three contender, or whatever.  I’m just going out there and trying to be the best Kenny Florian that I can be.  I enjoy the training, I enjoy the fighting, and I just want to test myself, and whether it’s for a ranking or for the championship, I really just try to have the same attitude every time.

Fighters.com: Should the UFC try to sign some of the hyped lightweights like second-ranked “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (28-4), ninth-ranked “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (15-3), third-ranked Eddie Alvarez (13-1), or fourth-ranked “Hell Boy” Joachim Hansen (18-7) to give you the opportunity to make your name against some of these guys thought to be better fighters?

Kenny Florian: I would love to.  You know, there are so many great lightweights out there.  There’s a ton in the UFC already; so, it’s not like it’s not competitive right now.  But definitely, I’m always looking for new and exciting fighters to compete against; and, definitely there’s a lot over in Japan; and, I’d love to be able to compete.  I just want to keep competing against the best and whether they’re in Japan or in the United States, then that’s great.

Fighters.com: You recently opened up your own gym with your brother in Brookline, southwest of Boston.  What was your motivation behind that, and what do you, specifically, bring to the table that’s unique?   What do you have to offer your students?

Kenny Florian: Well, you know, it’s always been a dream of mine ever since I started learning Brazilian jiu-jitsu just to start to teach.  It gave me and my brother so much as far as… obviously physical abilities and technical abilities, but the mental confidence and mental ease that it gives you, patience, discipline, persistence… I just found it real beneficial and found that if I could benefit from it then it anybody could.

And so it’s been a dream of ours for a long time to open up a school.  Our school is kind of unique in that, although I’m a fighter, I don’t really cater to fighters.  We’re not in there to produce a fight team per se.  We’re more in there to kinda get the regular person who wants to go in there and learn how to defend themselves in a fun and safe manner.  We cater to women, kids, adults, you know, just the regular Joe off the street who wants to learn to do what I do.

Fighters.com: You seem to keep pretty busy these days, with training, MMA Live, your gym.  What else do you have on your plate right now?

Kenny Florian: Well, between the training, MMA Live on ESPN, and the school and, of course, I have appearances and different commitments that I do with seminars and things like that and UFC commitments with media and stuff, it’s more than a full time job.  It definitely keeps me busy.  And training alone is a lot.  It’s fun though.  I definitely feel blessed and lucky that I have that as my job.  I get to do that full time and still get to have a good time doing it.

Fighters.com: How has being so busy affected your training?

Kenny Florian: You know what, it kind of gives me more of a laser-like focus, I find.  I don’t have time to really screw around.  I have to manage my time so well that I really don’t have much time for anything else, so I really have to be so specific with my training schedule and the way that I eat and the way that I train and where I’m going and all that stuff.  It almost makes it easier, in a way.  I don’t have time to mess around; so, it’s business all the time.  It’s go, go, go, go, go.

Fighters.com: You’ve achieved your dream of becoming a pro fighter.  Do you have other goals you’re working towards?

Kenny Florian: Um, I’m not sure.  I kind of take it day-by-day.  I hope to have a successful business running the school and be able to spread around the way that I train and the way that I’ve learned mixed martial arts and things like that and hope to be able to help spread the knowledge that I have and experience that I have to others.  I would love to be a just a great coach to a lot of fighters and be a mentor to a lot of fighters out there.  I’d definitely take a lot of pride [in that] and love doing that.  So, I’d love to take some fighters under my wing and really help them become great fighters and hopefully champions.

Fighters.com: Why does “King Mo” Muhammad Lawal (2-0) call you “Pimpin’ Ken”?

Kenny Florian: Why does what, I’m sorry?

Fighters.com: Mo Lawal?

Kenny Florian: Yeah, I know Mo.  Yeah, what does he call me?

Fighters.com: “Pimpin’ Ken”.  He recently did an interview with Fighters.com and…

Kenny Florian: [Laughing] Man, I don’t know why he calls me “Pimpin’ Ken”!  I don’t know.  You know, I’m a big fan of Mo.  Mo’s a great fighter, he’s a tremendous wrestler, and tremendous talent, and such a smart kid.  The sky’s the limit for him.  I don’t know why he calls me “Pimpin’ Ken”, but I think that’s just Mo’s style.  [Laughing]  Mo’s funny, man.  He’s a great guy.  Great guy.

Fighters.com: Do you have anything else to share?

Kenny Florian: No, just want to thank you for the interview and thank all the fans out there for their support of me.  And, if they’re not a fan of mine, then I thank them for their support of the sport.  It’s so important that we keep up a big fan following and show everyone that this is a legitimate sport and that the fans love it.  So thanks a lot.