UFC 118 Aftermath - Kenny Florian Responds to Dana White
by Geno Mrosko on Aug 30, 2010 3:07 PM EDT
Email
Print
"I take what Dana said as a compliment because I think he really believes in my skills as a fighter. I was capable of winning the fight but I would have to have fought a very boring fight. I felt great mentally & physically. I have more work to do on my wrestling & have already made the arrangements to become much better in that area of my game."
"Gray outwrestled me. I didn't crumble. I have won many main events and important fights. I blame my weakness in wrestling on the loss, not my mental game."
"I thought my defensive wrestling would have been enough but it wasn't. I will be working with high level wrestlers on a ridiculously consistent basis to improve this. I need to 10X more than I was to ensure that it is not only muscle memory but so I can prevent losing in this manner in the future."
Kenny Florian talks to MMA Fighting to respond to Dana White's claims that he chokes in big fights. This is pretty much the same thing that I said after I heard White say that. Can Florian work enough on wrestling to stop a bigger fighter like Maynard from taking him down and working his top control? According to Kenny, that's the goal.
I think it's interesting to hear him say that he thinks he could have won but he would have had to fight boring to do so. That doesn't make sense to me. I know White loves to push guys that fight exciting, and by exciting I mean stand and bang, but winning is winning. Isn't it? Isn't that enough? I've long thought that it's not a good idea for White to reward those that go out and fight stupid just to please him and the fans who don't appreciate a tactical battle. Based on his words, Florian is now another tragedy in a long list of guys who lost because they wanted to please the boss and by extension, the fans.
5 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
I think it’s interesting to hear him say that he thinks he could have won but he would have had to fight boring to do so. That doesn’t make sense to me.
It doesn’t make sense cause it doesn’t work within the context of this fight. You could point to many examples of a guy trying to be exciting and it working against him like Kamal Shalorus (although the fight with Varner was determined a draw), Sean Sherk or Tyson Griffin. But Kenny wasn’t even attempting to be exciting in this fight or anything. He was extremely cautious, constantly worried for Maynard’s takedowns and wasn’t engaging for long stretches of the fight. I’m a Kenny fan but what way could have Kenny won the fight? Kenny’s no tragedy, he just met a fighter that he stylistically could not beat, he’s not a Tyson Griffin type who idiotically costs himself fights by trying to be exciting.
"Caol Uno was like Mutoh. He developed into a star overseas and then returned to his home country a much bigger deal. Dokonjonosuke Mishima is like Kobashi because they both do moonsaults. Don Frye is like Stan Hansen because they are both fat dumb rednecks with mustaches." - Jonathan Snowden
He could have won
by threatening with more submissions in the first couple rounds. In the third he was very aggressive looking for the sub because he knew it was the only way for him to win. He should have done that in the first two. Hindsight is 20/20 though.
Forget it Donny, you're out of your element.
CagesideSeats.com
Follow me on Twitter at GenoMrosko
Yeah, that "I would have had to be boring to win" line is complete crap.
The only widely-accepted ‘boring’ style of fighting is wrestling from top position without a finish. Does Kenny actually believe he could have used offensive wrestling to control Gray Maynard, or does he think that tying to hit submission after submission is somehow boring?
A stand back and pepper with jabs and leg kicks approach would have also been far from boring. In fact, it would have proven that Kenny doesn’t need great wrestling to beat those guys, which would have been a thrilling discovery.
Sorry Kenny. Own the loss and do what you can to overcome your deficiencies. You’ve outlined a reasonable (though probably not a great) plan for shoring up your weaknesses, and you should have left it at that.
If I was a hungry man with a gun in my hand and some promises to keep...
I'm not sure
why he wasn’t conceding the takedown to work for submissions. Maybe he thought he could win on points if he could keep the fight standing? He was training wrestling with THEE MMA wrestler, GSP, so I guess he might have been confidant that he could stuff the shot and outwork Maynard on his feet.
Forget it Donny, you're out of your element.
CagesideSeats.com
Follow me on Twitter at GenoMrosko
by Geno Mrosko on Aug 31, 2010 12:01 AM EDT up reply actions
It didn't make much sense to me, either.
His best chances either lay with a rock-em-sock-em slugfest, or the previously discussed submission approach. Either way, stop contesting the takedown for God’s sake once it’s obvious it isn’t going to work for you.
The only times that contesting an inevitable takedown is a wise idea is when you’ve got enough striking power to create an opportunity during the takedown itself, or when the fight is dead-even and a takedown might seal it against you in the final moments. Other than that, you should work on your response, not simple, meaningless defiance.
If I was a hungry man with a gun in my hand and some promises to keep...
by misterjonez on Aug 31, 2010 12:22 AM EDT up reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Cageside Seats
Related FanShots on Cageside Seats
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
