Kenny Florian: Ready for BJ Penn at UFC 101Kenny Florian’s six-fight win streak in the UFC should mean at least as much as Lyoto Machida’s six-fight UFC streak, right?

With Machida receiving a title shot against Rashad Evans at UFC 98, Florian has begun to campaign more aggressively for a shot at Penn’s title. By all means, one could argue that he’s done more than enough to earn it – his current six-fight win streak has seen him finish all but one fight, three of those being in the first round, and all of them against talent that was, in one way or another, relevant to the ranks in his division.

He has choked out Din Thomas, TKO’ed Joe Lauzon, sent Roger Huerta to acting school via a unanimous decision victory over him, and spent one round tapping out newly crowned Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Joe “Daddy” Stevenson, all within a little over a year’s time. Florian’s three fights in 2008 made him one of the year’s most active American fighters, and comprised half of a win streak that started in April of 2007, following a loss to Sean Sherk to end 2006.

In Machida’s case, relevant contenders are something he has arguably only seen in his last two outings, as his first four seemed to be test-runs afforded him by the hype behind his victory over BJ Penn way back in 2005. Although Machida entered that fight at close to 220 lbs, while Penn didn’t even clear 190 lbs, a win over BJ Penn back then was still a win over BJ Penn.

Penn’s Achilles’ heel seems to be the same as it is for most fighters in Mixed Martial Arts – bigger and/or stronger fighters. BJ recently came off a controversial loss to Georges St. Pierre in which he contested the results of the fight, asked for the fight’s ruled outcome to be overturned, then asked the commission to require GSP to shower before each fight, all of which stemmed from inconclusive video footage showing that GSP’s cornerman may have distributed excess Vaseline to the shoulders of his fighter between rounds. The commission, of course, denied all of these requests.

Having taken the fight at 170 lbs. for St. Pierre’s UFC Welterweight Championship Belt, Penn retains his UFC Lightweight Championship Belt in defeat as it was not on the line like GSP’s was. Now, Florian wants his due shot at it.

Florian last saw defeat over twenty-nine months ago; in losing his bout back then with Sean Sherk, Florian was bullied and beaten down for a vast majority of the twenty-five minutes that their bout lasted. Sherk claimed the vacant Lightweight Championship title in this victory, and lost the belt within one fight (although he beat Hermes Franca, he tested positive for a banned substance and was stripped). One fight after that, Sherk met Penn for the belt, and the rest is history – Penn’s held the title ever since.

Florian’s advancement as a martial artist over just the last few years is as impressive a story as any told in the modern UFC, as he’s gone from a formidable BJJ black belt, to a versatile and talented mixed martial artist. Though most of his fight’s finishes have come via submission, his striking attack is rounded enough now to pose a threat to anyone who’d prefer standing with him to rolling with him. Given the advancement of his knowledge, KenFlo may very well pose one of the greatest threats that Penn’s seen at 155 lbs yet.

Though his career at 170 lbs. has been impressive throughout his career, top-notch competition with more weight and more strength has Penn seeing a drop down to 155 lbs, where he began his career in the UFC a little less than eight years ago, as the right move. Penn was urged into the Welterweight division mainly through the dissemination of the Lightweight division, following a disastrous end to the UFC’s Lightweight Championship tournament way back in 2003, when Penn and Caol Uno fought to a draw in their five-round title fight, the first and only recorded draw in a title fight since the implementation of the UFC’s current round structure.

Each of BJ’s losses, totaling five over the course of an eighteen-fight career thus far, have come by way of physically dominant athletes imposing their will on him. Jens looked the best he ever had in their 2002 bout, appearing stronger and physically more impressive as he landed the better strikes and did more damage over five rounds. Three years later, Lyoto Machida beat him unanimously at K-1 Hero’s, while weighing close to thirty pounds more than Penn did. Penn would lose both of his 2006 UFC fights, to a more athletic Georges St. Pierre, and a stronger Matt Hughes. These two back-to-back losses served as all the motivation BJ needed to fight someone his own size.

Since moving back home, BJ’s done well. His rematch with Jens Pulver was a one-sided affair that could’ve served as evidence of both Jens’ age and BJ’s advancement, which left some wild cards out there. BJ’s next showing against Ultimate Fighter reality series winner Joe “Daddy” Stevenson was, again, a one-sided (and rather messy) affair that resulted in a stoppage to the action in BJ’s favor.

KenFlo appeared on ESPN’s “MMA Live” recently, stating he’s yet to sign the contracts, but that the deal is in the works.

"At the end of the day, I just want this fight to be signed," Florian said. "Let's get an event, let's get a date, and let's make it happen."

Anticipating dates and locations for UFC 101, which is where a bout between him and BJ would take place, Kenny spoke of the intended event with excitement. “"Aug. 8, it's supposed to be in Philadelphia at the Wachovia Center, which would be phenomenal for me. I'm from the East Coast."

When asked by a viewer whether or not the controversy surrounding the most recent bout between GSP and BJ set a precedent for a third rematch between the two appealing more to fans, Kenny simply stated "I think the fans want to see Penn against Florian.”

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