the guy turned to MMA in his 30 without a striking base (he was a very good Bjjer) without being a physical specimen, without being very explosive but he manages to win almost all his fight thanks to dedication and hard training....
you can see an amasing evolution in this last 3 years.....his striking has become sharp, his physique has become stronger and wrestling has improved top notch....
it is not often that you see a one dimentional fighter become three dimentional after his 30
it is the kind of guy that you would learn a ton by training with him....because he looks to be a regular dude that manage to improve thanks to training
BJ Penn may be too much for him but I am impress by Florian!!
His win over Stevenson was fantastic. I was pulling for him but honestly didn't expect it.
Florian was not in his 30's when he started training and fighting. He was only 29 when he was on TUF and he started several years before that. However you are correct about everything else.
I can't stand to watch interviews with him. I find his Muppet eyebrows to disturbing. I can't ever see him getting cut though, they're as thick as Kimbo's beard.
covh14514 - Florian was not in his 30's when he started training and fighting. He was only 29 when he was on TUF and he started several years before that. However you are correct about everything else.
that is my point....If you watch his fights in TUF, he did not seems to have any striking or wrestling.
I know he was training before but it seems it was at 95% BJJ
Agreed with the first poster.
i agree 100% with jujubre
i have slowly become a big fan of his. my only issue is when he talks. i always end up feeling embarrassed for him. a hell of a fighter though. i hope he keeps up his winning ways.
cheers,
jj
I seem to remember he had decent muay thai and good elbows on the show. He cut and TKO'ed Leben, IIRCAnyhow, this is his first top ten win and I am impressed."that is my point....If you watch his fights in TUF, he did not seems to have any striking or wrestling."
He's Ben Stillers lost brother at birth. The kick ass Jew version.
He's definitely growing on me. Hell, I used to dislike him and think he didn't have what it took to be a top fighter, but I consider myself a fan now.
Win or lose, he'll give Penn the most competitive fight at 155 right now.
Yeah, like Naughty Gorilla said, he did have a striking background before TUF.
I'm most impressed by the development of his wrestling/positional grappling, and his GnP has gotten fierce. You don't want to be under Kenny Florian.
As far as skill level is concerned, it doesn't get much better.
Big fan here too. He is awesome now and keeps getting better. The worst thing that could happen to the rest of the LW fighters in the world is if Kenny loses to Penn. Cause if that happens, he will come back much better and hungrier.
crazychris - He's Ben Stillers lost brother at birth. The kick ass Jew version.
Ben Stiller is a Jew, so they're both the "Jew version."
I'm a fan. KenFlo is the shiznit!!!
"Yeah, like Naughty Gorilla said, he did have a striking background before TUF."
not much of one ... where he had some striking he only just started at syt a few weeks before he went on the show
" I agree that Kenny is a sponge for information, much like BJ Penn. That being said, I do believe he trained Muay Thai prior to being on the ultimate fighter. "
like i said - not very much. his development in mt/boxing took place after the show. doesnt mean that he didnt pick anything up before ... he just had minimal training in it compared to what he did after
jjchgo - i have slowly become a big fan of his. my only issue is when he talks. i always end up feeling embarrassed for him. a hell of a fighter though. i hope he keeps up his winning ways.
cheers,
jj
He seems well spoken to me.