When Kenny Florian first emerged in the UFC, he was a finalist in the Middleweight Division of the inaugural “Ultimate Fighter” season. He soon moved down to Welterweight, and then became a title contender at Lightweight.
Yet he simply could not grab the belt from then-champion BJ Penn, and recent title challenger Gray Maynard used a strength and power advantage to hand him another loss. At UFC 131, he debuts in his fourth weight class–the Featherweight division.
Will Florian finally find the division that syncs with his title ambitions? Or, will the talented Diego Nunes make Florian regret leaving the Lightweight division?
The result follows:
Kenny Florian b. Diego Nunes via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Story of the fight: Florian’s size advantage did not make its presence felt immediately. In fact, though it was Florian who opted to break the striking standstill with a takedown attempt, Nunes actually scored the first significant takedown of the fight (Florian would later even the score with his own takedown, although Nunes dropped Florian with a late strike). Neither, ultimately, was able to do anything of note on the ground, but as the round went on, Nunes started to show off a striking advantage. This should have definitely been a Nunes round. His strikes were quicker and crisper, he got the first takedown, and he was the only one who appeared to do any damage.
The two fighters still failed to get a rhythm going on the feet, and with fatigue starting to come into play, takedowns were coming more easily. Nunes net a big takedown early in the second round, but by the end, Florian had turned the tables and was making a real impact. With Nunes on his back, Florian was pressuring Nunes with his weight–and punches–and affected Nunes with both pain and fatigue. The fight started to belong to Kenny Florian.
Florian worked the same advantage in the second round, with the “TUF” contestant again working Nunes back to the mat and delivering some ground-and-pound from the top. Late in the round, however, Nunes worked his way back to the feet and started to press forward with offense. Florian did a great job fighting it off and maintaining his edge, but during a late trade session that went into the bell, Nunes rocked Florian with a hard punch. Still, it was not enough to take the fight from Kenny.
