Kenny Florian is dropping to Featherweight.

[Buffalo Dave]

Today, he took to Twitter to confirm the plans following a report from ESPN.com. But he said the lightweight division still is in his future.

"I'll indeed be fighting at 145 pounds," wrote Florian, who's an analyst on ESPN's "MMA Live" program. "It is a great new challenge. My goal is to get belt at featherweight, and I'll be back at 155."

Final WEC champion/current UFC titleholder Jose Aldo currently rules the 145-pound division. He next fights Mark Hominick at UFC 130 in April.

Florian hopes to get a title shot sooner rather than later.

"I'll always have haters no matter what decision I make, but for me, it's always been about new and difficult challenges and doing what I love," he wrote.

Last week he made strong hints about the possible move, which fighters such as Tyson Griffin recently made following the UFC-WEC merger and the addition of a featherweight division. But Florian, who actually was "The Ultimate Fighter 1" runner-up while fighting as a middleweight, admits making weight for lightweight, let alone featherweight, can be a chore.

"Making 155, it's tough sometimes," he said. "It's been tough."

So what would it take to get to featherweight?

"I'm not sure if it would be a total lifestyle change," he said. "But yeah, it'd probably be another lifestyle change. We'll see. I'm not, well – we'll see."

Florian currently is nursing a knee injury that forced him out of a January UFC Fight Night 23 headliner with Evan Dunham.

"The knee is very good; I got it amputated last week," Florian joked. "So I shouldn't have any more pain.

"No, it feels good. It's probably about 75 to 80 percent (healthy), and hopefully in another two or three weeks, I should be ready to start sparring and all that stuff."

It's probably Ken-Flos best interest to drop down for the time being, as the wrestlers are currently ruling the top of the Lightweight division. Florian has shown that he struggles with wrestlers, just take a look at the Maynard fight. This just adds even more depth to the Featherweight division and another potential victim for Aldo. With his knee healing well, he should be ready to return by June or July. I think he should get the winner out of Cub Swanson/Eric Koch fight when they fight at the UFC Versus event early in March. Another possible opponent for Florian could be Dustin Poirier, the guy that just dominated the former number one contender Josh Grispi. I'm not 100% percent sure, but I think Kenny was the guy that tried to get Aldo to move up to Lightweight to fight him a few months back. Well, Florian can have his chance to fight him if he can string a few wins together. I see the UFC giving him a shot if he can but on two impressive winning performances together. A fight with Florian is something that will really put Aldo out there for everyone.

Thoughts on the drop in weight? Who would you like to see him fight first?

 

[Tech N9ne]

Wow! All I can think of is, what a name for Aldo to take out. That will surely be a HUGE match for Jose Aldo. I can see a move to the lower weight division of Featherweight being a good one for Florian.

He is an explosive fighter at times, and having a size advantage on a lot of these guys should really be a good career move for Florian. It might even save his career.

But, that being said, he will be stopped by Aldo. Florian is just the kind of fighter Aldo will dominate. Florian's style is probably made for Aldo to catch him with something wicked.

Another but, IF Aldo moves up to 155 to challenge for The Lightweight Title, that might be the opening Florian would need, even if he had already lost to Aldo before me moves up. I could see possible matches for Florian with the likes of Uriah Faber too...

All in all, probably a smart move for Florian. It only seems like it could benefit him, except with an in-octagon encounter with Aldo.

 

[INDYjon22]

I like this move, if he can actually make the weight. I don't think he will be able to beat Aldo but Florian just adds some more depth to an already exciting division. I would absolutely love to see him fight Aldo because there is no doubt in my mind that someone would get knocked out or submitted, my money being on Florian losing. But aside from a potential fight with Aldo there are still a lot of guys to fight and with his size he could potentially dominate a lot of the division. Can't wait to see who he fights first.

 

[jmt225]

I think it's a bonehead move, personally.

Kenny's already tall and lanky for a Lightweight; God knows how he'll look at 145 pounds. He said in the interview he has trouble cutting to 155... what on Earth makes him think cutting to 145 will be just as easy?

I also hope this clown doesn't expect to go down to that weight, beat some random bum, and then expect a title shot. Chad Mendes should get the winner of Horminick/Aldo, because Mendes would actually show up to fight; he wouldn't choke. I have no doubt that if Kenny did somehow get a title shot, he would crumble and look like absolute shit. The guy is a choke artist, end of story. He's a very talented and intelligent fighter, but he crumbles against big names and against wrestlers. He will never be a champion in this sport. I don't care if he was able to cut all the way down to Bantamweight... he's one of those guys who just won't ever win the "big one."

 

[Via Armbar]

As far as Florian being a choke artist I have to disagree. I'm sure he comes in very prepared mentally and physically for every fight and tries to fight according to his game plan. The reason he loses against the opponents he does and when he does is because he just isn't as good as them. He wasn't as good as Penn at anything and Maynard had the right style to take it to him. That's it.

I have a feeling that Ken-Flo at 145 is going to look a lot like Christian Bale in The Machinist. Completely sucked up and probably at the expensive of explosiveness and durability. Not a horrible decision but not one that' going to show much success. He'll do the same thing he did at 155: beat everyone except the champion and the number one contender. He could potentially beat Nunes MAYBE but Mendes would grind him out worse than Maynard did. I would like to see him fight Hominick once Aldo beats him though.

 

[jmt225]

As far as Florian being a choke artist I have to disagree. I'm sure he comes in very prepared mentally and physically for every fight and tries to fight according to his game plan. The reason he loses against the opponents he does and when he does is because he just isn't as good as them. He wasn't as good as Penn at anything and Maynard had the right style to take it to him. That's it.

If you watch those fights though, man, that's not the same Kenny Florian we saw in his previous fights. I mean, against Penn... after Florian kept bragging and bragging about being a finisher and an exciting fighter, his plan in that fight was to simply pin Penn against the cage and hold him there. That was it. If he didn't think he was better than Penn in any aspect of Mixed Martial Arts, then he shouldn't have accepted the fight. Period. And then against Maynard... Florian hardly through any punches, and when taken down, it was like he didn't try once to scramble or look for any submissions.

Sorry man, but that's the definition of a choke artist. When it looks like you're not even trying, then it most likely means you've frozen and completely lost yourself in there. And that's exactly what happened to Florian against Penn, Maynard, and even Sherk and Diego if you want to go back even further.

 

[Via Armbar]

If you watch those fights though, man, that's not the same Kenny Florian we saw in his previous fights. I mean, against Penn... after Florian kept bragging and bragging about being a finisher and an exciting fighter, his plan in that fight was to simply pin Penn against the cage and hold him there. That was it. If he didn't think he was better than Penn in any aspect of Mixed Martial Arts, then he shouldn't have accepted the fight. Period. And then against Maynard... Florian hardly through any punches, and when taken down, it was like he didn't try once to scramble or look for any submissions.

Sorry man, but that's the definition of a choke artist. When it looks like you're not even trying, then it most likely means you've frozen and completely lost yourself in there. And that's exactly what happened to Florian against Penn, Maynard, and even Sherk and Diego if you want to go back even further.

The key to winning any mma fight is to implement your game plan better than the other fighters. Whether it be to hold them against the cage and dirty box their ears for three rounds or to fight for the fight for the finish immediately. Both work sometimes. He has never seemed to me as a fighter who abandons his game plan. Like you said, he tried to hold Penn against the cage but couldn't. He followed the game plan and didn't choke, he just wasn't good enough to implement his plan.

To say that he chokes and throws his skills out the window doesn't make sense. If anything, he doesn't adjust his game plan well enough throughout a fight. His striking didn't work against Maynard and his ground game was nullified by Maynards blanketing. I'm sure he was trying to position himself for a submission or a sweep but it never opened up. Someone who does well until the fight the best in the division and loses isn't a choke artist to me, they're called a gatekeeper.

 

[Fizzy]

Whatever it takes for him to get asleep at night. One question I have though is how is he going to make 145? He looks drawn out at 155. I've never been a fan of the guy, and don't think he is good enough to ever win a title. He is a high level gatekeeper. Mendes would beat him, Hominick would have a good shot, and Aldo would just destroy him. I expect him to drop weight, and start calling out Aldo. Hopefully the UFC makes him prove himself instead of giving him a title shot because he was a title contender at 155. Either way I just don't think he is good enough to make many waves in the division.

 

[cantknockrob]

I think Florian is going to have a letdown. His weekness against Gray Maynard was exploited. He is not a stong guy for his weight class and him going down in weight will not help that much.

He won't make it to Aldo. Chad Mendes, while still somewhat green, would own this guy IMO. It would be Maynard and Florian all over again.

 

[The Crock]

I think that it's too much of a drop in weight. He really will be too skinny, not a good thing. If anything, he should have just started diligently working on all his problems with wrestlers and stayed at Lightweight. I also dislike the notion that he's a "big name." Not really. I mean, he's good and all, but it's not as if he's a more impressive win for Jose Aldo than Urijah Faber was. That's just my personal opinion, though. That being said, I think he'll win a fight or two down at Featherweight, but he won't do much past that. He MIGHT earn a title shot, but if he does, he'll get destroyed.