Kenny Florian: 2022 PFL season, Battle Bots & career highlights
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Kenny Florian is a former multi-division UFC title contender and was a participant in the first season of the Ultimate Fighter. Nowadays, KenFlo is a PFL analyst and commentator who is immersed in a steady PFL Challenger Series schedule and for the looming 2022 season.
I spoke with Florian relatively recently and excerpts from our chat are below.
The feeling that Kenny Florian has heading into a big PFL season-
“I’m excited, man. With the PFL there’s been a lot of cool challenges and it’s just a new landscape for me. So that’s always exciting. I always like new challenges. And now we have yet another year with the PFL Challenger Series. Which I’m really excited about.”
Kenny Florian
PFL Challenger Series really illustrating the growth of the company-
“No question about it. I think there’s a lot of talent out there. Now with PFL and other organizations now, besides the UFC of course, there are different opportunities for a lot of these fighters. I think for the best organizations in the world, they’re looking to try to get the top talent in the world. It’s exciting to see who’s gonna be coming up and we’ve seen that story before. Who is gonna be that next Conor McGregor or that new Francis Ngannou? That’s pretty exciting.”
The strong rapport working with Randy Couture and Sean O’Connell in the PFL booth–
“I think it’s super important. Anytime you are friendly and love to joke around with the guys that you work with, I hope anyway, that it comes across on camera. I think that we’ve done a pretty good job of illustrating that. We are never shy in busting each other’s balls and just having fun out there. That’s what we’re doing when we’re not on camera.”
“And that’s what we try to do when we’re on camera as well. I think, especially with the Challenger Series, where it’s more about trying to get signed by the organization. I think it gives us yet again another opportunity to have even more fun. I think things will be perhaps a little bit less formal with the Challenger Series, which is cool.”
Kenny Florian on Battle Bots
The recent BattleBots commentary work that Kenny Florian has done-
“So with BattleBots, I’ve already completed the season there in Las Vegas where I was filming for a while. And again, that’s kind of the same idea. I just try to have as much fun and be as authentic as possible as I can on camera. It’s a similar dynamic with Chris Rose, we just have a blast calling robot fights. With Sean, it’s kind of the same deal. We’re genuinely excited about the sport. We love seeing awesome fights and fighters do well.”
“Of course whether it’s robot fights or mixed martial arts fights, there’s nothing better than seeing a genuine upset in the sport. When you think things are going to go a certain way and they don’t in combat. Not only is it inevitable at a certain point, but it just keeps you on your toes as a practicing martial artist still.”
“I try to learn from other people’s mistakes and be like you cannot take anyone lightly in this sport. You have to be ready for everything. Expect the unexpected and be prepared for anything out there. Whether you’re watching it or participating in it. That’s one thing that combat of any form kind of reminds you of. Be ready for the crazy moments.”
PFL 2022 season
If there’s one particular aspect of the looming 2022 PFL season that especially excites Kenny Florian-
“There’s a bunch of things. I guess we could start with one of the names you mentioned there, Bruno Cappelozza. A guy who I didn’t really know a whole lot about. I think that I’m curious to see did this guy just kind of strike gold here this past year? Was it just the culmination of everything just being perfect this year or is he really that good? And if he really is that good, he may very well be one of the best heavyweights in the world.”
“I mean, he has looked phenomenal everywhere. His speed, his power, his ability to integrate everything together. His focus, his composure. I was blown away by him this season. He kind of, for me anyway, came out of nowhere. So it was exciting to see all of his skills really come together last year. Now he has another opportunity to say that was not a fluke. I am one of the best heavyweights in the world. I’m going to be around for a very long time.”
“If that’s the case, I think there will be a lot of people that are going to want his services.”, Florian continued, “So that’s exciting. The other thing I think, Ray Cooper III winning again. Doing it against high-level competition and the way that he did it was impressive as hell. You still have a Magomed Magomedkerimov and you still have Rory MacDonald trying to battle their way back. And for Rory, he’s been fighting a very long time. I’m curious to see, what’s his mindset like.”
Professional Fighters League
“Now that he is aware of the PFL format and what it takes, what kind of adjustments he’s gonna make as he moves into 2022. While he’s still young, he has been fighting for a very long time. I know that he doesn’t want to fight forever. So what’s going to be his approach? This might be his last hurrah and another chance to win another world championship in another organization. Which is a great opportunity for Rory.”
“So that division is just stacked as ever…There’s a bunch of different storylines that I’m excited to see play out now next year. And again, it’s just very hard to predict how it’s gonna go. But I’m excited to witness it unfold live for every event.”
Kenny Florian having such great elbows and if he would like to see those strikes interwoven into the PFL rule set-
“I would. Where it gets complicated of course is the cutting aspect of elbows. I think that for the finals, I think that might be a real possibility where we could see that. For a finals matchup, for a championship matchup. Integrating elbows I think would be a great idea. Before that, it does get a little complicated. Just because maybe cuts aren’t able to heal up in time. All that stuff, I understand that aspect. We’ll see how that develops but I would certainly love to see that for a championship event.”
“I also think, it’s such a weapon in tight. If you’re in close in a clinching type format, it’s like you have your body punches. Which in tight rarely do damage unless you’re in that kind of middle-range zone. That’s when you typically see guys fold over. When you’re that close to like a clinching type range, I think the elbows are so unique in that aspect.”
“Where you can still cut, hurt, knockout and truly have an impact during the fight from that range. I think it adds another layer of danger that the fighters need to be worried about. I mean, as long as it’s safe, I’m always of the belief that more weapons are better. So I would love to see them.”
Parting thoughts for Kenny Florian-
“That’s pretty much it, man. Appreciate your time. I guess for anyone who is interested in Jiu-Jitsu, I released my first and only Jiu-Jitsu instructional which I’m really excited about. I kind of go over the conceptual framework of understanding grappling, which I think is very important. My instructional doesn’t kind of cover techniques. Yes, it covers a bunch of techniques, but it’s more about how do I understand grappling?”
“What am I generally supposed to do from the different positions of grappling? From escapes, to offense, to passing guard, to submissions, all that stuff. It’s available at KennyFlorianMartialArts.com and I genuinely hope it helps a lot of people out there. That’s pretty much it. For anyone who wants to hit me up or has any questions for me, I’m available on social media at Kenny Florian.”
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