When Kenny Florian first showed up on UFC programming as a member of the original Ultimate Fighter cast he didn?t appear to have a lot of staying power. Florian was undersized for his division ? middleweight at the time ? and lacked the colorful personality a number of his cast-mates possessed. However, Florian went on to establish himself as one of the organization?s finest competitors, challenging for titles on three separate occasions and beating a number of talented opponents including Roger Huerta, Joe Lauzon, and Clay Guida.
With a career many of his peers would love to have, it seems like it might have been easy for Florian to walk away from MMA after suffering a back injury. Though Florian is certainly content with his life at the moment, there does appear to be one thing he?d go back and change if he could.
?If there is one regret, I wish that I came to compete against Diego Sanchez,? admitted Florian in an interview with the UFC?s website, referring to his foe on the Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale. ?I feel like I beat myself before anyone else. I feel like I went out there and let the moment beat me. I don?t know what would have happened in that fight, but I didn?t compete; that was not me out there. I went out there and I was a nervous wreck. Before I knew what was happening, I was mounted and bloodied up. I wish that ? if there was one thing I could take back ? that I could just go out there and compete, and just fight him.?
Still, while the matter may eat away at Florian to an extent, the 36-year old appears able to look back on his run in the Octagon with nothing but pride.
?I really had a great career. Fighting a great guy like Clay Guida, a guy who I looked up to so much like Takanori Gomi was cool. Getting to fight a legend in BJ Penn was awesome; a lot of great moments. Fighting one of the best pound-for-pound guys in the world, Jose Aldo. Those were big moments ? wins and losses,? said the satisfied scrapper.
UFC Releases Video Tribute for Retired Fighter Florian
Florian also revealed his health was progressing, though he had no plans for a comeback at the moment.
PHOTO CREDIT – UFC
TweetSource: http://www.fighters.com/10/29/retired-fighter-kenny-florian-has-lone-regret-regarding-ufc-career
Dave Gomez Keith Hackney Matt Hamill Volk Han Joachim Hansen
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