TUF 17 Contestant Clint Hester's TUF Blog: Episode 2

Clint Hester's TUF profile.

With the first official fight of the season in the books, the controversy has already begun. When Jones picked the shortest competitor, Gilbert Smith, against the tallest competitor in Luke Barnatt, many were skeptical as to why Jones would have set up such a bizarre matchup.

Now that episode 2 is in the books, let’s welcome back TUF 17 favorite Clint Hester for his second entry:

So tonight’s episode was pretty awesome! I don't know if I'm excited because I have lived with the other thirteen guys for six weeks and I know how everything went down, but this show has been great!!

So this episode was named ambush and it seemed more of ambush the way it happened. Team Jones was trying to change the fight pick right before we went out to announce it, and we did it that way because we weren’t really sure how to break our feelings to [Gilbert] Jamal.

From my point of view, I thought Jamal had it in the bag except from times when he would speak about not having positive reinforcement like he usually does back home. So I'm thinking to myself, “He will not be able to focus for this fight or it will be too much pressure on him just from the way he is acting.” Then we had him trying to defend himself about his cardio and going in trying to prove a point to us, which was not needed in my opinion. He got the fight and now you have nothing to prove in my eyes. All we had to do as fighters was do whatever it took to get to the next round.

So, with all that being said, I feel Jamal went into the cage and did what was planned. It just sucks that there wasn't a plan B.

What I remember from being there was his arms got tired from exerting so much energy going for the takedowns. He should have stepped back and blasted Luke with combos because when he would throw he would land! But we all live and we all learn with each fight and I feel that was a great fight and he went out there to win it. It's just that my man Luke Barnatt wasn't giving anything away and he capitalized on a bad shot and clipped Jamal with a knee that put him out.

But keep watching because two people who loose will get selected for the wild card. Will it be Gilbert Jamal Smith? Or will it be another contestant that dreams of being the Ultimate Fighter who got cut short in this first round? Stay tuned for a great, exciting season!

Dana White Mini-Series Part 3: The Future

(Photo by MMAjunki.com)

So, this is the last segment of our Dana White Mini-Series. We have received a lot of positive feedback and we appreciate it. This subject is so interesting and we would love to hear what you have to say about it in the comments section.

In the world of MMA many people discuss the future when it comes to fights, TV deals and PPV numbers. But what is never written about is the future of MMA focused solely on Dana White. Dana White literally holds the current state of MMA in the palm of his hand. Yes, One FC is building some promise out in Asia and we have Bellator in America but let’s be honest, the UFC dictates where MMA is going. The UFC lays the path and other promotions try their best to follow in those giant footsteps. 

Dana White, like I stated in my other two articles in this mini-series, does more for his company than most other presidents. He rarely delegates responsibilities and has a major influence on everything from sponsors and public relations, to the TUF show, fighter relations and putting together events. So, when a man has that much influence in the top promotion in the world, then he truly dictates where the whole sport of MMA is going.

Dana, does everything and does most of it very well. But what will happen when he retires? Dana is only 43 years old but his job is demanding. Now is it a scary thought for some of you to think of Dana retiring and disappearing from the UFC? It is for me. Think of everything that makes Dana unique, which is an endless list of attributes, being gone and a different set of attributes, which will be owned by the new president, taking their place. Will the new president go to the locker room after a fight and give the fighter their win bonus even though they lost? Will he be a man that can be both a loving uncle and yet intimidating enough to demand respect? Dana White is such a unique and distinct personality the odds are that no matter who replaces him they will not be someone we will want to watch on TV and hear his every word. Will he have the great rapport with the fighters and fans that Dana does? Probably not because Dana is the only president of a billion dollar company that goes out into -50°F weather outside at 2:00am to go take pictures and sign autographs for some crazy fans (yours truly was present). Even if the new president does these things will it feel natural and authentic or will it feel forced and fake to try and fill the void that Dana left behind? I am not sure and we will have to wait to find out but let’s hope that when the time comes the right suitor is chosen that can be his own man but still captivating in his own right. When it comes to a replacement Dana and the Fertittas need to try and find someone better. That should always be the goal. It might be near impossible but when the time comes they will have to put in maximum effort. They cannot hire someone that flatlines the company. In today’s financial crisis you need someone that continues growth. Now, the economy might be more stable by then but everything still applies. Dana has put himself in a situation where he is the face of the UFC. They have to decide if his replacement will be in the same role or allow the fighters to fully take that spotlight. They need to decide if the replacement will be more like Scott Coker for Strikeforce who is mainly on the sidelines or like Dana right in the heat of things.

Now, the part that Dana needs to start the second the “retirement tingle” starts to itch the back of his brain is getting his company ready for a major transition. Dana needs to plan for a few things: finances, delegation and expansion.

When it comes to finances I would say he would need to do some alterations when it comes to the fighters. First off, get rid of the ridiculous $35,000 tax they charge any company trying to sponsor their fighters. Open the doors for more companies to get involved. Dana also needs to work on getting some other blue-chip sponsors for the UFC. They have Budweiser, Edge shave gel and the latest video games and movies. But he needs to step it up before he leaves. They need to be closer to NFL status than they are currently. There is so much more I could list here (new TV show, tournaments ect.) to help bring in revenue but I won’t go there.

Delegation will be a key aspect in his departure. Dana is too involved at this point and I think as he ages and his body demands more rest and less traveling this will be a more natural transition. However, when the time comes he might even need to restructure parts of the company. Dana needs to start building towards having his job spread out into multiple other jobs. This is common when big transitions like a new employee in a major role start a job. Sometimes they restructure that open role into many other roles before hiring. This is an idea they should start throwing around now. One example is having a guy in charge of the team that does TUF or whatever TV show they have going at that time. They have something similar to that now but Dana is still very involved at this point. When he leaves he must make sure that everything is settled and all of the duties are spread out to a reasonable extent.

Expansion is something that will never truly stop. However, Dana needs to keep cracking away at this. Lorenzo Fertitta (Co-owner and CEO of Zuffa) has been put in charge of making this happen at a faster pace. But by the time Dana retires he will need to have stars in most major countries; which means Joe Silva and Sean Shelby (UFC matchmakers) needs to step it up. Now, some of you might not know this but the UFC is taking a page out of the book of Shane McMahon; the son of WWE CEO Vince McMahon. PPV buy rates started to plummet in the mid 2000’s in America for the WWE. So, Shane set out and started a global expansion plan. It worked wonders. He had wrestlers representing almost every major market in the world. It literally saved the WWE. The UFC has been trying to do the same with TUF Brazil, TUF UK vs. America and, the most recent, Australia vs.UK. They also promote Cain Velasquez as a Mexican-American fighter, Michael Bisping (the best fighter from the UK), Georges St. Pierre from Canada, the many fighters from Japan and all of the amazing talent from Brazil. They are trying very hard to push these fighters as representatives of their homelands. But it is so much harder to do that with the UFC than the WWE. The WWE is fake and they can write any story and make anyone they want champion. But the UFC has to have the ability to find the best fighters from these areas across the world and hope they succeed. Expansion needs to be bigger and more secure than it is now.

No matter what the outcome of all of this will be, it will be an interesting time. Possibly a scary time. A time of absolute uncertainty for many. But if Dana and the Fertittas handle this transition carefully it could work out just fine. But more than anything, Dana’s presence will be missed.

Let us know in the comments what you think about this subject. What do you think some of the changes will be when Dana retires?

Dana White Mini-Series Part 2: Professionalism

Dana White (Photo by Sherdog.com)

Dana White is the busiest man alive. It seems like he rarely delegates many executive responsibilities and tasks. He is incredibly hands-on and can be seen at almost every UFC affair of any kind ranging from press conferences, weigh-ins, The Ultimate Fighter TV show and every fight event no matter where on the globe these events might take place. So, when it comes to getting the job done there are few men in the world that do as much as he does for their respective companies. Dana has also done a phenomenal job building the UFC brand and his own name as well. The story has been told a thousand times before about how he took a sport that was dead, went 40 million dollars into debt and then saved it all on a last ditch effort with The Ultimate Fighter reality series. And he took himself from being a boxing aerobics instructor to the Mafioso-esque boss-man he is today. But the problem is his professionalism in the media spotlight. I think Dana has a decent grasp on certain aspects of the financial future and corporate growth but the customers pay the bills and in order for growth you need more customers.

Every major sport that is more popular than the UFC in America (football, baseball, basketball) and other sports throughout the world (soccer, hockey) has an atmosphere of professionalism that the UFC is desperately missing. Not one owner or commissioner in the NFL or MLB has ever said or done what Dana White has done in the spotlight. The closest thing I can think of is the Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban’s antics from years past. But that is minor compared to what Dana pulls. Cuban never went against his own team on the scale Dana has against his own contracted fighters. I think we need some imitation for success here. There is a level of public professionalism that all of these organizations exude and in order to follow suit I believe Dana needs to adopt similar attributes and traits. If I were to ask Dana “Do you want to be taken more seriously as a professional sports organization?” He would most likely say “Yes!” So, why doesn’t he do what it takes and make it happen?

I would start by advising him to clean up the sport and his mouth. I have been to 2 UFC expos (Boston and Toronto) and was very disappointed with a few things. Dana and Joe Rogan swearing on the microphone on stage in front of the families with children walking around. Do they really think that is appropriate? MMA is not an adult sport anymore. Children practice it as well as all of the individual martial arts. It is time to clean up their mouths. I saw at least a dozen dads put their hands over their sons’ ears when Rogan and Dana took the mic. That is ridiculous and should never happen. Don’t you want those children to grow up and be customers?! Well, if the parents start to think that it is too inappropriate for their children then those kids will not grow up watching the UFC. Another thing at the expos that was really bad were the women walking around practically naked. My issue is for the same reasons I just listed. Adult customers = momentary gain until they age and die. Family customers = insures gain for years and years through the generations (like the NFL!). I understand that the “ring girl” has existed for many years in the boxing world and is a staple in the UFC and I have little issue with that but all the stores at the expo having girls walking around 80% naked is unneeded , a shame and unsound financially.

More on Dana’s mouth. When Dana is interviewed he swears nearly every time. Now, I am not in the upper echelon of the working business world but my father is. If he were to talk like Dana talks he would be jobless in a heartbeat. To use the f-word is just never appropriate and it is time to move on from the famous “Do you want to be a f-ing fighter?” speech from the first season of The Ultimate Fighter. Yes, that was quite popular but it is time to become a legit professional company. Plus, when you are swearing like that you sound like an 18 year old kid who is drunk at a frat party and not the president of a billion dollar promotion.

One thing he has done well professionally is marketing. Dana White is an absolute genius when it comes to marketing. Having the athletes available for fans to meet at expos and press conferences is revolutionary and not found in any other sport. I am a die-hard Yankees fan. Guess how many Yankees I have met…zero. Having the fighters meet the fans on the regular is an innovative marketing strategy that is unmatched in sports today. Also, having every fighter on twitter communicating with fans or at least giving the fans a way to get to know the fighters on a deeper level was beyond smart. It is dangerous to let them have free reign but worth the risk. Fans root for athletes they find commonalities with and they get to know the fighters better through twitter.

One last thing is Dana’s attitude seems to be becoming more and more like a tyrant; a “do what I say or die!” type persona growing. When his fighters act up or do horrible PR disasters, I understand the need to crack down. But when a fighter doesn’t make the career decisions Dana wants them to make or doesn’t fight as exciting as Dana wants then he acts like a crazed dictator and reigns down the wrath of God. Also, Dana awards the sloppiest fight “Fight of the Night” bonus money every event. Sometimes it is based on how back-and-forth it was or the technical skills displayed. But mostly it’s the Matt Riddle or Leonard Garcia fests put on. It is asking fighters to risk their careers and health to garner more money for the company. It is a sport and competition. Every other sport does not influence their athletes to endanger themselves so tickets sell. That is horrible and disgusting. And when fighters put on boring fights he should not go on a twitter rant about how horrible they are because they did not make him money!

But overall I think the change Dana needs to make are simple: act professional. Learn from and mimic your peers that are more successful.  I think Dana is aware of all of these but is stubborn and likes the attention so refuses to change. But I think eventually the Fertitta brothers (who own most of the UFC) will crack down and reformat Dana’s role in the public eye. All of these changes are necessary though for long term success.


For Dana White Mini-Series Part 1 click here

Dana White Mini-Series Part 1: Public Treatment of Fighters

  Dana White (Photo by Sherdog.com)

I am going to do a little mini-series on the man, the myth, the legend: Dana White. He is the face of the UFC to hardcore fans and the face of MMA to the casual fan. He decides the direction in where the sport goes. He controls the most powerful MMA organization in the world. He is the president and partial owner of the UFC and, with the help of the Fertitta brothers, resurrected the dying UFC brand and the sport of MMA in America as a whole. He is complex yet hides nearly nothing from the public. He is so unique and charismatic that people are drawn to him and he is held up as a super star in his own right. So, I will be peeling away the layers of Dana White and addressing each of these layers over the following months.

In our first segment we will tackle the way he handles fighters publicly. First off you all must know that I am a huge proponent for a Fighter’s Union. I think for our sport to go the long haul then our fighters need protection and have more power and say in their own careers. Dana White and Joe Silva (the matchmaker) decide on what happens to these athletes. They have no boundaries, rules or restrictions. If they wanted to they could vacate every title and fire all the current champions and never allow them back into the UFC. That will likely never happen but I think the fact that it is possible at all is scary and wrong.

So that being said, Dana White has complete control of the athletes’ careers. Therefore, when he speaks publicly about fighters, it could influence the public and change the public opinion about the fighters he is speaking about. You would think a man with that power would be careful and choose his words carefully but he does not and it is perplexing at times. I understand that his brashness and flamboyant attitude is what garners him attention and the ability to influence but everyone on earth needs boundaries; and Dana White might be one of the only men in America who publicly has no boundaries. He has said offensive homophobic slurs and swears more than anyone on the face of the earth with nothing more than a slap of the wrist.

However, in a way all of that is somewhat explainable because we are naturally selfish beings. We are born worrying about us and not so much about others.  So, being brash and offensive to others is not so much a worry but what happens when you bash your money makers? One equivalent is Barak Obama saying “I know my Vice President sucks. Biden is just awful but please vote for me. Give me financial support even though you don’t like what I’m putting out there”. Another could be Ralph Wilson, owner of the Buffalo Bills, bashing his players and saying they are bad people and boring to watch. Then expecting people to pay to watch them. It just does not make sense. And White does this constantly. He just did a healthy portion of that this week when Jon Jones turned down a chance to fight Chael Sonnen.

The quick history of what happened with UFC 151 is that Dan Henderson was to fight Jon Jones for the light heavyweight championship but injured his knee and had to pull out. Then Chael Sonnen offered to fight Jones but Jones, with the advice of his coach, decided to not take that fight on eight days notice. Now, Sonnen is a deadly fighter. He gave the best fighter in the world, Anderson Silva, a run for his money twice. To face Sonnen without a full fight camp in a dangerous thing to do, but on eight days is a big gamble. So, when Jones denied Sonnen the fight Dana decided to scrap the entire event. So UFC 151 is erased and everyone puts the blame on Jon Jones. Now this is where I have my issues. Dana White announced all of this over a phone conference call. Instead of defending his biggest money maker he decided to bash him and say horrible things about him: “Something that's never happened in UFC history. A guy who's a world champion and considered one of the pound-for-pound best turns down a fight.” Do you honestly think it is a good idea to make your youngest champion who seems to be in place to be champion for a long time, and your #1 PPV king for years to come, look like a coward. Instead you work some PR magic and say “It was just too much to ask of him on short notice.”  You do that even if his decision was selfish and harmful because you want money and stability in the long run.

But Dana White is a proud man and when men have roughly no humility they cannot handle blame. So, Dana projects his own mistakes onto Jones so that he has no blame himself. It does not take a whole lot of knowledge to understand that in this sport people get injured training all the time (too frequently actually). But with that understanding you need to put at least two fights that could be main events on each card; especially on a PPV card. Having Jake Ellenberger vs. Jay Hieron as your co-main event for UFC 151 comes with the understanding that if Jones or Henderson were to go down with an injury then you would have to find a fighter not of that card to take the place as main event. That is your fault Dana White not Jon Jones’ fault. If you didn’t have as many cards then maybe you could stock up. For example at UFC 152 (before Jones vs. Belfort was placed on that card) you had Benavidez vs. Johnson for the flyweight title as the main event and Bisping vs. Stann as co-main event. If the flyweight title fight was scrapped you could still go with Bisping vs. Stann. Yes, it would hurt the ticket sales and PPV buys but it could still work.

Jon Jones does not set the cards and Jon Jones is not the match maker. And to ask him to put his health, money and belt on the line when he is not fully prepared is a lot to ask. And when Jones said no to fighting Sonnen, then Dana White needed to suck it up, be humble and understand where he made mistakes. White should not project his anger onto Jones. Due to Dana projecting blame he also made other fighters angry at Jones when they should be mad at Dana.

Jones said this is response to the whole debacle:

“Dan Henderson got hurt, and the fight was canceled. I signed a contract a long time ago to fight Dan Henderson. That's what I studied for, and that's what I prepared myself for. To take a fight with a different opponent in which I would basically have three days of training before traveling and then starting to cut weight I just thought would be the dumbest idea ever. I wouldn't have been properly prepared. I definitely apologize to the other fighters on the card. I feel terrible, but it also wasn't my decision to cancel the whole card. I don't make those decisions. I apologize to the people that lost money on tickets and travel and things like that. I don't apologize for my decision, but I do apologize for the way it affected people. I hope people can understand I was just trying to do the best thing for my career. I'm moving forward. I'm continuing to work, and I'm working on transforming my body from great shape to phenomenal shape. My goal now is to beat Lyoto better than I did the first time. I want to be a better version of myself, and I'm looking forward to it.” (Quote from MMA Junkie)

But due to Dana White’s egotistical response fighters directed their anger at Jones. UFC welterweight Charlie Brenneman Tweeted: “@JonnyBones u can send my check to PO box 198. EH NJ. Rent is due the first, so preferably by then. Thanks @ufc”. Then he later tweeted “Me n @Rick_Story took a fight on 24 hrs notice!! Champ what?!?! @ufc”.

Now like I said before Brenneman’s anger is misplaced. But his example of his fight with Rick Story is not similar. Neither Story nor Brenneman had a belt on the line. Neither of them are the face of the UFC and expected to perform at a near perfect level. It was also not on a PPV or FOX card. Yes, they have to pay the bills just like Jones and they make less then Jones but Jones has way more pressure on him to perform well then they do. I’m sorry but it is not the same thing. Those fighters that tweeted want to stay on Dana White’s good side and would never bad mouth him out of fear of being cut (Fighter’s Union = Freedom of Speech).

Another example starts at UFC 97 and UFC 112 where middleweight champion Anderson Silva put on two very boring fights. Silva is easily the best fighter alive and has a big fan base in Brazil. When he put on those boring performances Dana White said awful things about him. Instead of saying “Well the guy he was facing is dangerous and Anderson was just off that night” and trying to save face. Dana instead points a spotlight on the situation and gives people an excuse not to buy the next Anderson Silva PPV.

My last example was the first FOX card which featured only one fight between, then, heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez who was defending his title against Junior dos Santos. Cain is a wrestler and did not take it to the ground and was knocked out in one minute. So, when they went back to the analysts Dana White was there. Instead of praising dos Santos and trying to build a star from this amazing performance, Dana White went off on Cain for fighting stupid and not taking it to the ground. What a wasted opportunity.

It just does not make financial sense to bad mouth your champions. Dana White needs to learn how to hold his tongue and swallow his pride otherwise it will eventually bite him in the butt.

Now, with all of this being said you all need to know I love Dana White. He is at his core a great human being. He gives when it is not necessary, and frequently, to fighters and regular people alike. I have no ill feelings toward him but I just think he could do a much better job representing his brand and his fighters. I met him once in Canada and he was a complete gentleman. He took his time with each fan and was great with the younger kids. I have much respect for Dana and in the following segments of this mini-series I will have a brighter opinion of him in certain aspects.

Let me know your opinions in the comment section.

Growing Pains: True Title Challengers

Dana White crowning Junior dos Santos Heavyweight Champ (Photo by Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE, US PRESSWIRE)

This is a new segment we are starting here at CR called Growing Pains. Our beloved sport is relatively new and is still growing and forming into a solid structure that can and will last for the long term. The sport inside the cage has developed extremely quickly but it is all of the issues surrounding the sport and outside the cage that still need to develop the most. In this segment we will be writing about those issues and would love your (our devoted readers) feedback in return.

This time around we are discussing Title Challengers. After the FOX 4 Shogun Rua vs. Brandon Vera main event was announced people were a tad confused because Shogun is much higher in the ratings. But when Dana White said that the winner receives a title shot there was a lot of confusion and mixed emotions. I think that down the line this issue will be much more important than we now see it.

I recently watched a replay of a FOX Business episode that had Bjorn Rebney on. Rebney is the CEO of Bellator and he truly believes in the tournament format to determine true title challengers. I tend to agree with him that it is the best way. I think almost everyone does. In every other sport, even college football now, has the tournament format and everyone is satisfied in the end that the true champion was crowned (except if it’s not your team and then you blame the refs…I do it too). I am a Yankees fan. I am from New York and have loved them my whole life. If you aren’t a Yankees fan then you hate them but even in the end after the Yankees win the World Series most people accept it. They give the “they have too much money” excuse but they recognize they are the best team.

Dana White is a man that runs on emotions. He makes decisions based on how he feels and his emotions sometimes trump thought-out and well planned decisions. Do we want a sport where the most significant championship fights are determined by who the boss likes most? Do we want a popularity contest? I hope not! Now, many believe that tournaments shorten fighters’ careers which I believe does hold some validity but if done correctly then I think we can keep the athletes safe. Look at how the flyweight tournament went down. Every fight was spaced out far enough and no one fought twice in one night.

Now I am not saying the UFC needs to constantly have tournaments but I think this week’s title contender match proves the UFC needs some improvements. Maybe even an official rankings system could work. They show rankings on UFC Tonight but if they detailed how they came to those results and then decided to promote those more it will have people believing in them.

I think the best solution is to formally announce the top four fighters in each weight class and then have them fight each other in a mini-tournament, just like the flyweight tournament, to get a true title contender. Maybe mix in those rankings I mentioned previously to give more credibility in ranking the top four in each weight class. Another positive is each one of those fights could be an important main event on cards. Giving more credibility and importance on a regular basis; in other words every main event would have title implications.

But in the end what matters most is that the customers, the fans, are satisfied and that our sport does what is best for its own longevity. The UFC needs to start thinking long-term about this matter. How many more Shogun-Vera situations will it take before people stop caring about UFC title fights? I hope we don’t find out.

Fedor Emelianenko Retires

                                                                                     Photo by Showtime

Fedor Emelianenko has retired today. It is an end to the most interesting career in the history of MMA. A man considered for years as the best Pound for Pound fighter on earth yet will most likely not be remembered.

We have all heard before that history is determined by the winners. Dana White saw Fedor as an enemy for many years. They tried for years to come to a contractual agreement but never came close and it ended horribly.  Eventually Dana won out when Fedor was submitted in the first round by Fabricio Werdum on June 26th, 2010 (My wedding day!). Because of this he won't be highlighted in the UFC video library or highlight reel packages. He will definitely not make the UFC Hall of Fame. For instance look at Frank Shamrock, Don Frye and Pat Miletich; all who should be in the UFC Hall of Fame. How many casual fans know who they are? Almost no one. How man casual baseball fans know the pioneers (Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ty Cobb) of their sport? A big portion because baseball properly remembers them but not in the UFC. How many baseball fans that are born today will know about those same pioneers? A decent portion. Will Fedor be remembered by anyone becoming fans now and into the future? Probably not. Although it is very wrong and not fair whatsoever, Dana does not handle this stuff correctly. But Fedor’s decision to follow his management blindly was a mistake on a few levels. Mainly, in my opinion, is that he looked somewhat weak or afraid not going to the UFC. Dana said Fedor wasn’t as good as people thought and that Fedor would not win in the UFC. Fedor never came over and it made him look scared. All of Fedor’s foes came over to the UFC. Big Nog, Cro Cop, Heath Herring, Mark Hunt and Mark Coleman. They all came over and got wins.

But aside from that, Fedor had one of the best careers ever in our young sport. He ruled over the heavyweight division for a long time and defeated a handful of legends during that reign. He was unbelievably fun to watch and his cold demeanor made him someone that we wanted to see pummel people.

I will remember Fedor as a great warrior with an incredible amount of skill and talent. I just hope that somehow everyone else will too.

A Look Back at Kenny Florian

Following his loss to one of the best fighters in the world, Jose Aldo, Kenflo suffered a back injury. There were rumors of the fact that he might retire following this devastating injury but many people cast aside this statement.

Well, here we are now. It’s time for us to reflect on the amazing, yet very disappointing career of Kenny “Kenflo” Florian.

He entered The Ultimate Fighter with an unimpressive record of 2-1, riding a split decision loss to submission specialist, Drew Fickett. Dana and Joe saw something else though, they saw a fighter that had the potential to be something. The season was featuring middleweights and light heavyweights. Let’s just say that Kenny was very undersized at middleweight. Despite this, he destroyed Leben with a 2^nd round TKO and received a 1^st round TKO from Diego Sanchez in the Finale.

He then decided to take it down a notch, specifically 15 notches. He dominated both Alex Karalexis and Kit Cope and once again dropped down another weight class. He found 155 lbs. to be his home. This statement was very clear when he beat out the always-entertaining Sam Stout with another dominating performance, a 1^st round RNC. Riding a 3-fight win streak, he met Sean Sherk in the lightweight title fight for the vacant belt.

This was the first title shot.

He came up short in a bloody unanimous decision loss to “The muscle shark” but didn’t fail to impress. He followed his loss with a new dedication and finished the next 5 out of 6 fights with the one decision against Roger Huerta. He received another title shot, this time against one of the best of all time, BJ Penn. Kenny has been one of my favorite fighters ever since I found interest in this sport (which has been a fairly short time) and have never liked Penn’s attitude. To say the least, I was cheering for Florian to win this fight more than I do for most fights. The fight wasn’t the most exciting, but Kenny was arguably ahead on the scorecards against Penn, but Penn was eventually the victor via 4^th round RNC.

It was a heartbreaking loss for Kenny; he receives a second chance at a title, and fails. Not many people receive one title shot let alone two. It was disappointing, but you can’t take anything away from Kenny, he lost to one of the best ever.

Kenny returned, though, as one of the most impressive fighters I have ever seen. His performances against Clay Guida and Takanori Gomi are the performances of one of the top pound for pound fighters. Clay Guida was one of the top guys in that weight class and Kenny Picked him apart with beautiful jabs, precise angles and counters, and eventually finishing the fight after he hurt Guida, with an RNC. His fight with Gomi was much of the same, actually, rather identical.

He was then in yet another title eliminator match, this time against the horribly boring dominant Gray Maynard. Maynard continued the dominance by dismantling Kenny in front of his hometown. It was sad, especially being there.

Now, all the things that I have been saying Kenny have been partly bitter, but I didn’t go into depth about all the really good stuff he has done.

The reason why? There were simply too many amazing performances of his to talk about them all.

He was apart of the project that saved the sport of MMA, received 3 title shots (and did a good job in all of those), and is a perfect representation of the sport. He is articulate, extremely smart, and very charismatic.  In my opinion, you don’t have to become a champion to get a vote for the hall of fame. I believe having the type of career in which you receive three title shots, not only warrants a HoF slot, but also deserves legendary status.

He fought at 4 different weight classes, continues to sponsor the sport as one of the main faces on TV as an analyst and commentator.

Kenny was one of the most entertaining fighters in UFC history. We will never forget him and all he has done for the sport.

Kenny will be a hall of famer.