Florian to Train With GSP for His Fight With BJ Penn
by Michael Rome on Feb 9, 2009 9:25 AM EST
in MMA News
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We don't know whether we'll ever see a fight between BJ Penn and Kenny Florian, but if they do collide, Florian will be training with the man that dominated Penn:
Also slated to make his way down to the "Beautiful Province" for training is Team Sityodtong member Kenny Florian, who looks to benefit from a full training camp with Zahabi and St-Pierre before taking on Penn for the lightweight title later this year.
Florian and Penn is a fascinating fight because we don't know what to expect from BJ. He could come out extremely hungry and ready to prove a point, or he could be a shell of his former self following such a devastating loss.
Florian doesn't have the power or wrestling to implement the same strategy St. Pierre did, but I expect that GSP has a lot of other things to share with Florian about his experience fighting Penn. Among the more important points St. Pierre has made is Penn's inability to deal with body attacks and his weaker core. Perhaps a gameplan oriented around body kicks could lead Florian to victory. Florian did an excellent job using body attacks to keep Joe Stevenson and Roger Huerta off balance.
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Florian vs. Penn does look like it should be in Penn's favor,
but I am becoming less and less surprised when the fighter with inferior tools wins because of a superior gameplan. GSP had (at the very least) equal tools to Penn, and a gameplan (notable partially because Penn apparently had none..?).
Florian is pretty good and constructing and executing a gameplan. He’ll likely pick BJ apart, but it’s not going to be dominating. Only chance for ‘domination’ is if Penn gets frustrated and loses his focus, opening avenues of attack for Kenny.
There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt.
What is Florian's reach?
It might be an important factor….
Personally, I’m going with Florian but it doesn’t seem like it’ll be much of an upset (lots of people are saying it). So hopefully the opening line is favorable…
AWmusic - mp3 blog on independent music..
Florian is on Sityodtong?
Him and Bonnar, I guess. Who else?
by Derek Suboticki on Feb 8, 2009 11:42 PM EST reply actions
Do You Mean...
Who trains with Delegrotti (sp?)? If so I believe Jorge Rivera, and Marcus Davis train with team Sityodtong.
I like Florian...
But I hope BJ Destroys him and batters him ruthlessly.
BJ needs to Win in Dominating fashion, and though Kenny is IMO a top 5 LW worldwide, I think BJ at his best would be far too much for him right now.
BJ knowing that Ken-Flo training with GSP will make him want to beat Florian down in a bad way. This makes me think that Kenny is adding fuel to BJ’s fire.
"My job is a decision-making job, and as a result, I make a lot of decisions." --George W. Bush, The Decider, Lancaster, Pa., Oct. 3, 2007
BJ is not the same at 155 as at 170
I think BJ destroys Florian after dealing with a few kicks. BJ lands some solid shots and Ken-Flo chooses taking it to the ground over being hit again. Once on the ground BJ does what he does and Ken-Flo taps or the ref stops it. BJ by submission or TKO. I love Ken-Flo but my money is on BJ.
"Stop smiling you are about to be punched in the face !"
Florian is a very accomplished grappler. He may not be at BJ’s level, but he’s not terribly far off either.
He may not be at BJ’s level, but he’s not terribly far off either.
What leads you to that conclusion?
"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito on Belfort at Affliction:DOR
by Rundownloser on Feb 9, 2009 12:36 AM EST up reply actions
No, but..
since both fighters (BJ and Florian) have fought and beaten Stevenson, it a common metric used in the fight game to compare to fighters who have never met.
Florian caught Stevensons back and choked him out early. BJ brutally beat Stevenson in dominant fashion for 3 rounds. They both dominated stevenson, just because florian caught a submission early doesn’t mean Florian is better on the ground.
By your logic, is James Irvin better than Thiago Silva because it took Irvin 8 seconds to beat Irvin compared to Silva’s 3:25? MMA math doesn’t work because there are too many different variables.
By my logic?
Its common practice to use a fighter that two guys have both fought as a point of comparison for guestimating the outcome of their future match. No denying it, it happens all the time and for good reason.
I’m not sure why this bothers you so much.
Regardless, I think it says an immense amount that Florian accomplished his win so much earlier and with so much less pounding of his opponent.
BJ may have better overall BJJ, but in some fights he chooses to ignore it in favor of his love affair with his punching power.
I think it is that “pounding” that BJ put on Stevenson that is going to give
Ken-Flo trouble. Keep in mind, also, that BJ is a performance fighter. I don’t doubt that BJ could have ended that fight sooner but realized he had an opportunity to put on a show.
"Stop smiling you are about to be punched in the face !"
I believe the notion that BJ “could’ve won earlier” is just another fable in the long line of Penn fables. With Rd 1 running out, Penn had hurt Stevenson with the initial flurry, but then spent the rest of Rd 1 moving from mount back to guard (then repeate), but had not put Joe in any more danger of ending the fight until Joe went for wrist control guard and Penn landed the grazing elbow that cut him wide open. After that cut, Stevenson was broken and then gave up the choke in Rd 2.
And lets not overlook...
the fact that KenFlo and BJ both beat “Daddy” by rear naked choke… only KenFlo did it a full round earlier.
so...
You are saying if two people can beat the same person, they are on the same level? If I can beat a whitebelt and BJ can too, does that mean we are on the same level? I know that Stevenson is a blackbelt, but there are MANY levels in between someone who just got their blackbelt and someone who won a world championship 10 years ago (who has continued to trian and get better).
“someone who won a world championship 10 years ago (who has continued to trian and get better).”
Yeah..about that training thing. I think some would argue that BJ’s BJJ has been about the same ever since.
If you want to comparte 2 guys that have gotten better through training, Florian has improved FAR more than BJ has over the last few years.
Ken-Flo chooses taking it to the ground over being hit again.
Florian’s takedowns have improved drastically since his early days in the UFC, but I don’t think he’ll be able to take BJ down. I’d guess that BJ will have an easier time taking Kenny down than the converse.
It’s more interesting when you consider KENFLO had previously trained with BJ in Hilo.
This fight must occur.
"BJ on the BE" - Kierkegaard
If Ken-Flo wins..
I will lol all over my living room.
With that said.. After BJ’s last performance I give it a 70/30 in favor of BJ winning this. He might of looked like shit vs GSP .. but so did Kos, Hughes, Serra (understandable), and Fitch.
it seems a bit odd that Florian had picked Penn to win against St. Pierre stating it was a “gut feeling” and now is a bit quick to start training with GSP to fight Penn.
Nevertheless, it should be a good fight since he trained with Penn at one point he has a bit of inside (although somewhat dated) knowledge, plus whatever he can extrapolate from GSP and Greg Jackson will be much helpful in possibly beating Penn. I do hope Penn comes out with a vengence though because I don’t want him to lose 2 fights in a row.
Really pulling for Florian here.
But BJ is alot to root against. Then again, I told a friend new to MMA before the Florian/Huerta fight, “never bet against Florian”.
Going for Florian as well
and everyone is forgetting…
Florians Cardio > BJ’s Cardio, even at lightweight.
Unless BJ goes to train with another camp he’s gonna get pwnted. :P
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
Good point.
Being a Champ, and therefore every fight is a possible 5 rounder might work against BJ, especially against “The Big Peruvian Lungs”.
Florian will beat Penn, if BJ accepts the fight.
GSP destroyed Penn and his will. Florian will have the utmost confidence after training with GSP and Zahabi, and he’ll take Penn out.
let's not forget that gsp had about 30lbs of LEAN mass on BJ
Florian won’t have that same advantage to throw his weight on BJ.
Florian will win.
Unless I see something closer to the actual fight that tells me BJ is gonna be returning with a vengeance, I see Kenny winning. I don’t know if Kenny can finish BJ, but if BJ is still distracted by wanting to fight GSP again, I think Kenny should eek out the win.
I’m amazed by all the people picking Florian. I’m a big fan, but I just don’t see where he has an advantage in this fight other than cardio.
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
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