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View Full Version : FLORIAN LOOKS TO TEACH LAUZON RESPECT



Tony
31-03-2008, 23:20
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Interview filmpje : http://www.mmaweekly.com/MMAWeeklyVideo_KennyFlorian_PreUFN13.wmv

Kit Cope, Sam Stout, Dokonjonosuke Mishima, and Din Thomas. Those are the names of the last four fighters to step in against Kenny Florian as opponents for a main event of a UFC Fight Night card. Next up is Joe Lauzon and Florian is looking to keep his winning streak intact on Wednesday night in Broomfield, Colorado.



Understanding how to deal with pressure is a major component of any mixed martial artist’s game, and Kenny Florian is no different.



Facing his fifth Fight Night main event, Florian seems to have the burden of favorite place squarely on his shoulders, but the former “Ultimate Fighter” competitor isn’t feeling any different than usual heading into this bout.



“I really don’t feel any pressure for this fight coming up,” said Florian in an interview with MMAWeekly Radio. “I feel great. This is my fourth or fifth main event now for the UFC, so it’s just another big fight for me. I don’t want to lose any fight and I want to win as much as I do for any fight.”



With his status as one of the top contenders in the lightweight division, many feel that Florian is under the microscope to pull off an impressive win over Lauzon to maintain his ranking in the weight class.



While that argument still holds water, Florian feels that the real pressure in this fight is on his opponent.



“For the lightweight division, for Joe I wouldn’t be surprised if he feels more pressure than I do,” he stated. “Really, I feel as relaxed as I’ve ever been. For Joe this is his first main event in the UFC, for him to lose this fight, he can go down and maybe fight a Joe Stevenson and have to prove himself against a Joe Stevenson to get back into the rankings. And then he faces another loss, that could be the last time he ever fights in the UFC.”



Following his lightweight title loss to Sean Sherk in October 2006, Florian has forged an aggressive style, while promising to not only finish fights, but to work his way back to the title by defeating every top lightweight along the way.



“I’d be more than happy just to keep on fighting top guys before I get a title shot,” he stated. “Obviously, that’s what I want. I want to beat the best guys. I want to be the best guy in the division. Obviously to be a champion in a weight class assuredly you’re going to fight the best, so that’s definitely what I want.”



Motivation has never been at a shortage for Florian, but this fight has taken a special interest to him after some recent comments by his opponent.



“I’ve never felt this focused, never felt this kind of energy leading up to a fight, and I feel like there’s a lot of things going back and forth. I know Joe Lauzon said a little bit of things and it kind of fired me up and I’m ready to go,” Florian stated.



“There was an interview with Lauzon, where he was like ‘who’s Kenny train with? Kenny’s not training with anybody. I’m training with B.J. Penn.’ And then I hear how my buddies are telling me about how B.J.’s already talking about how he’s going to fight Joe Lauzon in a title fight at some point. How he’s going to make him fight. It’s just nonsense. That fires me up, you know, because they’re looking past me.”



Florian’s message is clear and he doesn’t feel anyone should underestimate him in a fight.



“When I heard about the fight and the fight was announced, people were talking about Kenny are you going to look past Joe? There’s no freaking way I’m going to do it,” he exclaimed.



“But now here’s a kid looking past me. He’s training with B.J. Penn and apparently he’s become B.J. or whatever it is and they’re looking past me. You know what? If they do that, B.J.’s going to end up sending Joe Lauzon to the slaughter, because I’m not going to have anyone disrespect me like that or anyone going into a fight thinking they’re just going to run right by me.”



The stage is set, the fighters are ready, now it’s just a matter of waiting until Wednesday for Florian to step in and see if he can teach Lauzon to respect him.



Florian will square off against Lauzon on April 2 in Colorado as a part of the UFC Fight Night 13. The event is live on SpikeTV leading into the seventh season of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

el bastardo
31-03-2008, 23:24
Lauzon is een goeie vechter. Daar krijgt Florian nog een harde aan!