Kenny Florian vs. Joe Stevenson

This is yet another tough one for the odds-makers. Kenny Florian vs. Joe Stevenson – who’s the underdog in this fight? Both combatants have risen to stardom following their appearances on the Ultimate Fighter reality series. Both combatants also have very well rounded fighting styles as they’ve both been quite successful in the UFC’s talent-rich lightweight division.

Kenny Florian has been making a run at the title for quite some time now. I was almost certain that following his victory over Roger Huerta, we’d be seeing a Kenny Florian vs. BJ Penn showdown headlining one of the upcoming cards. However, with BJ Penn contracted to fight Georges St. Pierre in February, it looks as though Kenny Florian has to patiently wait for his well deserved shot at BJ’s gold.

Kenny Florian – being the patient, intelligent guy that he is – has stated that he’s more than willing to fight some of the other top contenders while he’s waiting. How’s that for confidence? Kenny Florian knows that a loss will derail his title quest but rather than selecting an easy fight, he accepts perhaps the toughest match-up presented by Joe Silva – the UFC’s matchmaker.

As his 29-8 record indicates, Joe Stevenson is no pushover. Likely still in redemption mode following a disheartening loss to BJ Penn, Joe Stevenson will be looking to rack up his second consecutive win since UFC 80. It’s been said that a fighters worth is best judged not through victory, but rather – how a fighter responds to defeat.

At only 26 years of age, Joe Stevenson is constantly learning and evolving as a fighter. If anything, perhaps his loss to BJ Penn was the humbling experience that Joe Stevenson needed. His first response to that defeat was a good one as he choked out Gleison Tibau with his favourite technique – the guillotine choke – halfway through the second round at UFC 86.

Kenny Florian vs. Joe Stevenson – How does this fight go down?

Let’s work from the ground up, shall we? Joe Stevenson is no slouch on the mat as he’s spent most of his career training under Marc Laimon at his “Cobra Kai” gym in Las Vegas, Nevada. Marc Laimon is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and has trained numerous champion grapplers. Joe Stevenson has also spent some time training at Extreme Couture under the tutelage of Robert Drysdale – who is yet another BJJ black belt and grappling champion. Joe Stevenson – having started BJJ when he was only 13 – undoubtedly has a high belt ranking although I don’t believe he’s achieved the level of black as of yet (he was a brown belt last time I checked). However, to compliment his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a strong wrestling background.

Kenny Florian has a higher level of Jiu Jitsu than Joe Stevenson as he’s a legit black belt. Adding to that is his high level of Muay Thai striking as he trains under Mark Delagrotte at the Sityodtong satellite school in Boston, Mass. Kenny Florian undoubtedly has the better ground game and when considering his Muay Thai skill set which includes arguably the most lethal elbow strikes in the entire division (if not the entire organization) he certainly has the edge in the striking department as well.

That being said, while Kenny Florian is both a better striker and better grappler than Joe Stevenson, Joe Stevenson is physically stronger and with his wrestling background, that may pose a problem for Kenny. If you look back to the Kenny Florian vs. Sean Sherk showdown, Kenny Florian had a hard time neutralizing Sherk’s strength advantage. We could possibly see the same thing happen on November 15th. This is one of those fights that’s tough to predict (as are a lot of the latest fights) so you’re best bet (literally) is to select it based on the odds. The latest odds in the Kenny Florian vs. Joe Stevenson fight can be found here.

Florian vs. Huerta: Fight Analysis

The showdown will be the co-main event on the UFC 87 card on August 9th in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Both fighters are hungry for a title shot and will surely leave it all in the ring as it’s already been pre-determined that the winner will get the opportunity to face B.J for the belt. Some victory prize, you get to fight the seemingly unstoppable B.J Penn who’s been demolishing his recent opponents and licking the blood off his 4oz gloves during his post-fight celebration.

This match-up has “fight of the night” written all over it. Both fighters are extremely well rounded and exciting to watch. Kenny Florian is coming off an impressive victory over Joe Lauzon – who many thought would be a legit threat to Florian. I remember watching that fight with a couple friends (1 of which is new to MMA) and he dubbed it a “nerd fight” based on their looks. If he only knew ..

Anyway, Huerta is coming off an impressive win himself in one of the most exciting fights of 2007. Him and Clay Guida almost went the distance in a fight where the third round looked just a fast paced as the first. That’s the fight where Huerta really got a chance to prove himself as Guida was his first taste of legit competition in the UFC. The majority of Huerta’s recent competition has been fighters making their UFC debut – not what you’d expect from a guy who has now made 6 UFC appearances.

Regardless of who’s faced tougher competition throughout their careers, both fighters have great skill sets. Florian trains under Mark Delagratte at the Sityodtong Muay Thai school in Boston – which is a branch of the acclaimed Sityodtong gym in Pattaya, Thailand. His Muay Thai is razor sharp and we’ve all seen what he can do with his elbow strikes. Florian also has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu so he’s very competent if the fight hits the ground. If fact, he may be the one looking to take it there!

Huerta is a cardio machine and is well versed in every aspect of the game. He can strike, he can wrestle and he has a solid Jiu Jitsu game. Is his Jiu Jitsu up to Florian’s level? I don’t believe so. However, Huerta has the edge when it comes to wrestling ability so he may be able to stuff Florians takedown attempts and keep the fight on the feet.

It should be interesting to see how this match-up plays out. Will it be the fight of the night? Or fight of the year perhaps? It certainly has the potential to be. The outcome of this fight is too unpredictable but one thing is for sure – you don’t want to miss it!