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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Kenny Florian may only have one win in the featherweight division thus far, but his long tenure and level of success a division above was sufficient to put him in place for a title shot at 145 lbs., and he'll now meet Jose Aldo at UFC 136 this October.
Florian took to the newsletter for his personal website, KennyFlorian.com, to comment on his third shot at a UFC title, as well as his respect for a champion he feels is one of the best fighters in the sport.
"I am very honored to be fighting on this card against Jose Aldo for the UFC Featherweight Championship on October 8th in Houston, Texas,” Florian wrote. "I consider Jose Aldo one of the best fighters on the planet pound for pound. I have been a fan of Aldo since I first saw him fight live while I was doing commentary for the WEC. His explosiveness, well rounded game and experience make him the toughest challenge of my career."
That's a lofty comment from Florian, who has suffered high profile losses to tough fighters at lightweight in B.J. Penn, Sean Sherk and Gray Maynard. But Florian is relishing the challenge after successfully making his debut over a tough fighter in Aldo's teammate Diego Nunes at UFC 131.
"Fighting one of the top featherweights in the world in Diego Nunes at featherweight this past June showed me how tough this weight class truly is," Florian admitted. "I have always been about taking chances and challenges throughout my career, whether it was going up in weight and fighting at 185 [lbs.] and 170 [lbs.] or fighting at 155 [lbs.] and 145 [lbs.]"
"Jose Aldo poses a threat everywhere and I will have to prepare a perfect training camp for him."
Penick's Analysis: Whether he legitimately sees Aldo as a bigger challenge than Maynard, Penn or Sherk were, he needs to have that in his mind as motivation and understanding of what he's up against. Aldo's been seen as a special talent since he burst into prominence in the WEC, and Florian represents probably the most well-known fighter Aldo has ever faced. Because of that, Florian also makes for a very big fight for Aldo, and each should have plenty of motivation to have a hell of a title fight in the co-main event on this card. It's going to be a fantastic fight, and Florian knows he has his work cut out for him if he's going to capture a title in the UFC for the first time.
[Kenny Florian art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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