By: Brian Churchin
Kenny Florian is the most intelligent fighter in MMA.
Never mind the fact that KenFlo has a host spot on ESPN's MMA Live.
Never mind the fact that he's reportedly one win away from a title shot.
Never mind that he is intelligently branding himself and prepping for the future in a way that few fighters do.
The thing that makes Kenny Florian the most intelligent fighter in MMA is that he got out of the lightweight division, and put himself in yet another position to be successful. The lightweight division is by far the most crowded, talented, diverse and dangerous division in the UFC. If you have even one weakness in your game, there are a countless number of fighters that will exploit it.
Let's, for a second, dissect the other divisions in the UFC (we'll leave out Strikeforce in this discussion because Florian is under UFC contract) to determine the singular specificities behind finding success in the non-lightweight ranks.
If KenFlo were a Heavyweight fighter (while I understand the impossibility of the statement, we're looking theoretically), what's the best way to get to a title shot? Quick hands and good footwork.
It's been shown that quick hands will beat the majority of heavyweights in the division. Brock. Roy Nelson. Mir. Kongo. Struve, etc. If a heavyweight beats 2-3 of these contenders in a row, which can be accomplished by picking them apart with effective striking, specifically a powerful, stabbing jab and powerful cross, and keeping distance from guys that can manhandle you on the ground (the Lesnars, Nelsons and Mir's of the world), you will effectively punch your ticket to a date with the champ. At that point, you can still dance with the one that brought you: distance, patience, jab, jab, jab...repeat. It's the heavyweight cha-cha. Keep on dancing to a title shot.
Light heavyweight. So, unless Kenny Florian has a secret utility belt full of tricks to beat Jon Jones, I don't necessarily recommend even hypothetically trying to get a title shot. But the formula's there, and it's very similar to the heavyweight formula, with a slight variation. First...jab like a mofo. Second, solve the conundrum of unique striking and the ability to stuff a takedown. This division is filled with unorthodox strikers that all think they can knock you out with a strike that Steven Seagal invented...and most of them can. If I were coaching Kenny as a light heavyweight, and we were preparing for a Phil Davis, Rashad Evans, Shogun, Machida, et al, I would have him chasing chickens for hours, running 5 yard shuttles for days, and training with every possible Division I wrestling program to work on his takedowns. Take 'em down, beat the body. That will slow down the elusiveness that is a staple in the division, and also take power from some of those crazy strikes that have been showing up lately. Also, to combat the Steven Seagal movement that seems to be the flavor of the month, I'd have Jean-Claude Van Damme teach Kenny that helicopter kick from Bloodsport. Take that Seagal.
Middleweight. Chael Sonnen has given the ultimate recipe to get a title shot: talk a lot of smack, have cardio for days, and then....jus' 'rassle. Now, I'm having a tough time deciding the exact ingredients to get a shot at the top pound for pound fighter in the world...but in continuing the recipe analogy...I would, on KenFlo's behalf, call up Dwayne Johnson so he could teach him exactly what the Rock is cooking. Seriously, middleweights, focus on wrestling and ground and pound. And dropping down a Rock Bottom then a People's Elbow is a nice way to cook up KO of the night. Jus' 'rassle.
GSP's Welterweight division. Seriously folks, GSP has already game planned this out for everyone: counter-striking with a powerful jab, and then take downs with authority. He's run over everyone in the division with this game plan...so if I'm training Florian to get to the top of the ranks...monkey see, monkey do. I'd probably even make him get that same tattoo that GSP has on his chest...and while I don't know what those symbols mean, I'd encourage KenFlo's words to be "Mimic" "Rush" and "Chicken Sandwich"...the first two pay homage to GSP, the third is just a pretty cool ice breaker for chicks.
Let's skip for a quick second to the bantamweights and featherweights. Forgive me for my simplicity, but you need to be fast. Then, you can either be a Mighty Mouse type wrestler that envelops opponents and disallows offensive maneuvers, or a Dominic Cruz/Urijah Faber/Jose Aldo type fighter with speed and power. I was watching a WEC show back in its heyday and I blinked and missed 3 fights, in these divisions, speed kills.
And now we come to Kenny's old division. The Lightweights. KO power is almost meaningless here. Frankie Edgar was out on his feet, and still came back to dominate Gray Maynard in the later rounds. Donald Cerrone has a chin made of Chuck Norris. I've seen Ben Henderson knocked down once in all of his fights I've seen, and it had to be a SportsCenter highlight straight out of the WWE. I saw Clay Guida literally eat a knee that would put 99.9% of every other fighter out cold...oh, and then he got a takedown, he's a monster. So, now that we know it's damn near impossible to knock these guys out...now we have to worry about getting hit by the sledgehammers that the Dennis Sivers, Anthony Pettis, and Melvin Guillards of the world are swinging. Because they WILL knock you out. Oh, and then there's having to mess with the ground games like the ones owned by George Sotiropoulos, Jim Miller, Sean Sherk, and then some guys named Edgar and Maynard...they're ok too.
To be successful in the Lightweight division, you literally have to be a master of every aspect of Mixed Martial Arts; creative and crisp striking to soften opponents up, takedown defense to avoid the ground and pound of some heavy handed dudes, brazilian jiu jitsu and wrestling to protect yourself and try to finish an opponent if you happen to take them down, and now backflips and attacks off the octagon are becoming part of fighters' arsenals. It's like watching cirque du soleil but rather than flipping on to each other's shoulders and climbing up ropes, they're flip-kicking you in the face and spinning-back-fisting the taste out of your mouth.
Kenny Florian made a GREAT move in going down to the featherweight division. He's built in the mold of a Dominic Cruz. Tall, lean, fast, VICIOUS elbows, muy thai that just woks (not a typo, play on words...couldn't help myself with the Thai reference). In the featherweight division, KenFlo can really focus on his strengths to find success, rather than having to be too watered down in training to build your weaknesses. He can focus on his strengths and not just be a contender in a very packed weight class.
To any fighters that are on the brink of making their way into the UFC Lightweight division, listen to me, please: Follow the path of the smartest man in the UFC and either call Jenny Craig and drop to 145, or eat an extra meal or two and go up to 170...you DO NOT want to be a lightweight in the UFC.
Kenny "KenFlo" Florian, the smartest man in mixed martial arts.
Book it.
Brian Churchin created his series "The Book On..." exclusively for MMANonstop.com. Follow him at twitter.com/bchurchin.
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