FightHype.com caught up with Kenny "KenFlo" Florian to discuss his recent win over Alvin Robinson at UFC 73, his futue plans and much more. You don't want to miss what he had to say about his change in attitude as well as his thoughts on Sean Sherk's performance. Check it out!
PC: Congrats on your UFC 73 win over Alvin Robinson.
KF: Thank you!
PC: You look as though you've had a physique makeover. How much has a strength and conditioning coach helped your fight game?
KF: It's helped a lot. Ever since that Sherk fight, it's been about getting healthy and doing the right things; treating your body well, eating right and doing the work. The motto has been "there is no off-season". I'm training every day, getting stronger every day and it's been a huge difference in the way that I feel as far as my health goes. I haven't had any problems with my back since. It has helped my confidence; everything I do is to get better now. I'm more explosive, stronger and quicker. It's helped ten fold.
PC: I have to ask you. Although I don't think so, but with all the craziness going on in MMA right now, you have to ask. We're not going to get a positive steroid test back for KenFlo are we?
KF: Hell no, hell no! (laughing)
PC: How tough was it for you to take on a guy that had only been defeated once and that you knew so little about?
KF: It's very tough, you know what I mean? People knew very little about him, so if I beat him, I'm supposed to beat him. It's a kid that hasn't fought in the UFC and blah, blah, blah, but if I lose to him, then it's a big upset and I look bad. It was a tough situation. I did my research on him. He was a tough kid. He beat some tough guys and he was just a very dangerous opponent I think. My goal was just to shut him down from the beginning and not give him any space and get him to break. I don't think he's experienced any pressure like that before, so that's what I wanted to give him. I wanted to give him that pressure and try to finish, you know?
PC: Looking at his record, he won all of his fights by submission. What was your gameplan going in technique-wise?
KF: I wanted to strike with him and I knew he was going to come hard in the first round, but I figured as the fight continued, I would be able to pick him apart. It seemed like he had a tendency to gas after the first round, but I wanted to strike with him and avoid takedowns. If the fight went to the ground, I wanted to be the one on top, but everything went well. He was a good wrestler, but I've been working on my wrestling a lot since the Sherk fight, so I got a chance to show that as well.
PC: You fought a guy built similar to Sherk and was a good wrestler. By no means am I comparing him to Sherk, but do you think it was a barometer to show how far you've come since the Sherk fight?
KF: For sure. Mishima was the same type of build; short and stocky and a guy that wants to try and get me up against the fence and try to take me down. My last couple of fights have been good experience for me to get under my belt for when I fight Sherk again or another confident explosive wrestler; whoever it might be.
PC: He didn't give much of a tap and he paid for it by eating a couple of more shots. Did you not see the tap?
KF: Exactly. I wasn't sure and my job as a fighter is to keep fighting until the ref stops it. When I saw him turn to his stomach, from my view, it looked like he was going to give me his back so he wouldn't take punches. When you tap the mat, it should be 3 hard taps on the mat and he kind of just rolled and let his hand touch the mat. I didn't want to have any kind of experience where he could say he didn't really tap. I didn't want any kind of controversy. I wanted to make sure it really was a tap.
PC: It seems like you have a different temperament. You fight with more of a chip on your shoulders now. Where is that aggressiveness coming from?
KF: Some screw turned in my neck after the Sherk fight I think (laughing). I stop thinking about I'm going to go in there and compete and this and that. The attitude now is it's him or me. I want to go in there and finish my guy. You have to be like that. You have to have that mentality of a warrior because it's either him or me and it's gotta be him. I don't want to be the guy on the receiving end of it, so I have to give it back. I'm going into my fights with a killer instinct from here on out!
PC: You made some comments after your fight about guys not finishing fights. Were you not impressed with Sherk's win over Hermes Franca?
KF: No, I was. There were a lot of people talking about that. I was very impressed with his performance; how can you not be impressed. Sean Sherk is a beast, there's no doubt about that. He showed a lot of great skills out there. I want to separate myself as a fighter and say I'm the guy that (not to say he didn't want to finish his) always wants to finish my fights; that's always the intention. The fans pay a lot of money to see fights. No one wants to pay money to see a decision or judges determining the outcome. They pay their money to see knockouts and submissions and stuff and I just wanted to let the fans know that's what I'm going to do for them.
PC: Do you think the problem is these guys are fighting not to lose?
KF: I think so. I think that's part of it. I think you're right. Part of it is definitely having the attitude of fighting not to lose. When the money is on the line or you have a certain reputation, you kind of want to protect that reputation instead of going out there and making a new one. It's a tough situation, but at the end of the day, the fans make the sport and you have to be an exciting fighter. You look at a guy like Anderson Silva and he's going to have a ton of fans just because he finishes people and in an exciting way and that's what it's about.
PC: Do you ever go back and look at some of your TUF fights and see how much you've grown?
KF: I can't even look at my TUF fights. I can't look at myself in those fights. I look horrible. The other day I looked at my Mishima fight and I thought I looked terrible. I'm sure in a couple of months when I look at this fight, I'll be thinking I could've done things different. I'm the pickiest person you ever want to meet. I never look for a pat on my back; I'm never satisfied. I'm working hard all the time. I think I've made a lot of improvement and it's been a lot of hard work, but I still have a long way to go.
PC: Would you like to take another fight at the end of the year or will you rest?
KF: I'm having another fight in November. I want to stay busy. I will have more of a break than normal, but it's better than last year. Due to injury, I only fought once or twice last year and that's not acceptable and economically it doesn't make sense. I have to stay busy. I'm going to Afghanistan next week to visit the troops and then I'm going to get right back. I will actually be getting my program from my strength and conditioning coach tomorrow and I will be working out in Afghanistan. I'm staying on it man.
PC: In a perfect world, who would be your next opponent?
KF: There's a lot of interesting fights. A lot of great fighters out there. A couple of fights that come to mind; one of them for some reason is Thiago Tavares. He's a very interesting fighter. He's a great fighter that has a good reputation. He's been looking great and he's undefeated. I would love to fight someone like Thiago Tavares. There's also Spencer Fisher. He's another interesting southpaw like me. He has a great game. Great fighter. There are a lot of good fights; definitely no shortage of talent at 55.
PC: What did you think of Nate Diaz winning the show and adding another Jiu Jitsu guy to the lightweight mix?
KF: Nate comes from a tough family. Nick's tough as nails and Nate's the same way. He's a talented fighter. He's young and I think he's going to be a great fighter. I think he needs a little more experience. He needs to grow into his body more, but I think he's going to be a hell of a fighter man.
PC: What did you think of the rest of the card at UFC 73?
KF: I thought it was pretty good. It was good to see Minotauro and Heath Herring in there. I thought it could've been a little more exciting. Overall I thought it could've been a little more exciting. I thought we could've had more finishes. Anderson is just spectacular. That guy is going to be a tough man to beat. We talked about getting a chance to train together over in Rio or maybe here in the states. He's an exciting fighter. Sherk is a beast. He's going to be tough to beat as well. I have to keep analyzing his fights and training hard myself and look for a weakness. Hopefully I will get a chance to fight him again and get a chance to beat him.
PC: I know you said it was tough being the swing bout. How important was it for you to get televised?
KF: It was very important. I was just happy to go out there and have the people get a chance to watch my fight. It was an honor to be a part of the main card. These were guys that I came up watching, so to be a part of that was a real honor for me. I was there to fight regardless of whether it was on TV or not, but having it on TV was definitely a big bonus.
PC: It's always a pleasure KenFlo. We will be starting our live fighter chats soon, so you know I'll get with you. Is there anything you want to say in closing?
KF: Thank you to the fans and the support they give me. Check out kennyflorian.com for info on the sport and Percy, anytime my man. My pleasure.
