MMAVu

So Kenny Florian finally gets his second crack at the 155lb title this weekend after falling short against Sherk in 2006. Much credit has to go to Kenny, he said he wanted to basically clean out the division until he was the clear-cut top contender, and he has done just that. Along the way, he defeated Roger Huerta, Joe Stevenson, Joe Lauzon and some Japanese dude who’s name I can’t spell.

However, standing in front of him is BJ Penn, and despite how much Kenny has improved…BJ seems just a bit better than Kenny in all aspects. BJ has deceptive boxing, and hits like he has a  roll of quarters in his hands. Kenny landed multiple shots on Huerta, including punches, knees, elbows and kicks, but all that seemed to do as piss of Huerta. Either Kenny was playing the out-pointing game, or his strikes had little effect on Huerta.

Wrestling-wise, Kenny is over-matched as well; while neither guy is known for their wrestling, BJ is able to stifle top wrestlers like Matt Hughes and GSP (for a while anyways). Ground game? Forget about it. Kenny is 8/10 while BJ is 10/10. The guy is the best grappler at 155lbs.

The only potential advantage Kenny has, is cardio. Even then, he has to make it to the third round in order to cash in on that potential advantage.

So while Kenny’s determination to win has finally matched his physical skills, he will come up just short again, falling to strikes in round 3.