Kenny Florian 'More Than Likely' Earned a Title Shot With Win at UFC 131

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - With a unanimous decision win over Diego Nunes at UFC 131 on Saturday night, Kenny Florian not only successfully competed in the fourth weight class of his UFC career, he also "more than likely" earned himself a shot at UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo, according to Dana White.

"I thought it was a great fight," said the UFC president. "There's no doubt Diego is a tough guy, and [Florian] looked great tonight. I was curious. You never know until you see a guy fight after doing that kind of a cut."

Florian, who made his 145-pound debut after failed bids to win a title at 155 pounds, said the drop in weight was "the hardest thing I've ever done in my life," but insisted that he didn't feel too affected by it during the fight itself.



"Actually, I felt great out there," Florian said in the post-fight press conference. "During the fight I felt real good. I actually felt I got stronger as the fight went on. It's tough. That little guy is fast, and I think my timing was a little off in the first round. But once I was able to adjust, I felt great, and felt I was actually able to outlast him."

Using takedowns and brutal elbows on the ground in the final round, Florian opened up a cut in Nunes scalp that bleed profusely in the final minutes. He also handed Nunes his second defeat in eighteen fights, and impressed White as much with his performance as with his willingness to rile up the Vancouver crowd by sporting his Boston Bruins jersey on the same day as the Stanley Cup finals game between the Canucks and the Bruins.

"I got to respect him," White said. "They better give him a ticker-tape [parade] when he gets back to Boston. ...People ask me, 'Aren't you from Boston too?' I say, 'I've never even been to Boston, man.'"

Florian joked that he "saw a lot of middle fingers" in the crowd before and after his fight, and added that might need to have metal detectors installed outside his after-party in Vancouver just to ensure his safety.

But while he had "several points" during his weight cut where he was wondering if a move to featherweight was such a good idea, Florian said, in the end it's all part of an effort to become a UFC champion.

"I'm staying at featherweight. I want a shot at the belt. I think Jose Aldo's one of the best fighters in the game. Lot of respect for him, big fan, but I think every UFC fighter's dream is and should be to be a champion and to test yourself against the best. He's one of the best, and that's what I want. We'll see after that."

White stopped just short of officially declaring Florian the next challenger for Aldo's title, but did say it was probable that he'd get the shot after his victorious debut in the new weight class.

"He deserves a shot at the title," said White. "No doubt about it."

 

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UFC 131: Cerrone crushes the legs of Rocha for second UFC win

Donald Cerrone's transition to the UFC has been nothing but smooth. He made sure of that at UFC 131 by crushing Vagner Rocha with leg kicks. Rocha, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist, could never get the fight to the mat and took massive damage to his legs. Cerrone rolled to a unanimous decison, 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26, in the first fight on the pay-per-view portion of UFC 131 in Vancouver.

There were questions about Cerrone, a former WEC lightweight champ, when he was brought on board by the UFC, the biggest promotion under the Zuffa umbrella. He's now won two straight in the UFC over Paul Kelly and Rocha, and three in a row overall.

"My wrestling has gotten better and better thanks to Greg Jackson and all of the wrestlers down there. I'm working with guys like Clay Guida, Melvin Guillard and the Vanier brothers every day. I'm disappointed that I didn't get the chance to finish him," said Cerrone.

Cerrone's muay thai just destroyed Rocha all night long.  Cerrone (15-3, 2-0 UFC) landed dozens of kicks on the outside and inside of Rocha's lead leg. By the third round, Rocha switched stances for a brief second and was limping. Over the final two minutes of the fight, he was wincing on each nasty leg kick that landed.

"After the first round, I could tell the leg kicks started bothering him. I just didn't let my hands go after negating the takedown. I'm happy with the win, but you know I always want to put on exciting fights," said Cerrone.

Rocha (6-2, 0-1 UFC) tried for takedowns throughout, but lacked the size and technique to threaten Cerrone. A replacement for Mac Danzig, he was simply overmatched at this point in his career.

"That was just a bad fight for me. It wasn't what I had planned at all. I was really frustrated that he was able to defend the takedowns that well and it threw my game plan completely off," said Rocha.

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UFC 131 presser: Speed vs. power and TV deal rumors

Gone was the happy, smiling Junior dos Santos. The guy who's 12-1 with eight knockouts to his credit, sat on stage in Vancouver and gave his prediction for his fight against Shane Carwin on Saturday night at UFC 131.

"Shane Carwin comes from wrestling. I think I'm faster than him. As soon as he feels my hands, my speed, I think he's gonna try to take me down," said dos Santos (26:55 mark).

That was short and sweet, but it didn't even cause a ripple from Carwin. The 6-foot-2, 255 pounder believes in his power and keeps saying he'll stand and trade with the Brazilian.

"I am a great at wrestling and I was blessed with huge power in my oversized XXXL hands, but I've just got a lot to learn. [...] On Saturday I will be facing a guy that, like me, can finish a fight with one just punch. He comes from an amazing training camp and he is not only a powerful striker, but one of the most accurate strikers too," Carwin wrote in his Yahoo! Sports' "Monster" blog. [...] But I believe I will be the one doing the knocking out. My power is derived from my legs and ass. I have the ability to generate a lot of power even in short or tight spaces because of the power from my big legs … which is great for punching but makes it nearly impossible for me to get keys from my jeans pocket."

During the prefight press conference at the University of B.C.'s Robson Plaza, UFC president Dana White raved about the fight. He expects fireworks and said the winner will face Cain Velasquez in the next four or five months. Velasquez has mentioned October in Houston as his target for a return.

White also discussed one of the big rumors of the week - the UFC's future television deal plans and the possibility of leaving Spike and buying a stake in the Comcast/NBC-owned G4.

"We're talking to everybody right now. There is no deal with anybody. If that was true, trust me, I'd be up here talking about it right now," said White (11:30 mark).

Meanwhile, MMAFighting's Mike Chiapetta reported that rumors persist about the UFC looking to buy G4. Sources at Spike are telling Chiappetta that Bellator, currently on MTV2, would then be an option for Spike.

Bloomsberg.com checked into the G4 story.

NBC Universal's G4 channel may fetch as much as $600 million in a sale to Ultimate Fighting Championship, according to analysts including David Joyce of Miller Tabak & Co.
...
Negotiations are early and a deal may not be reached, said the people, who aren't authorized to speak publicly. Ultimate Fighting Championship's contract with Viacom Inc. (VIA/B)'s Spike TV ends this year, one of the people said. More broadly distributed cable channels with bigger advertising revenue can fetch as much as $20 per subscriber, Joyce said.

The New York Times confirmed the UFC's talks to buy the channel that's currently seen in 60 million homes. Spike is available in 99 million homes. UFC would have to work on the recent DirecTV issue with G4. The channel was dropped by DirecTV at the end of the 2010.

Brian Stelter of the Times reported that Comcast, the new owner of G4, met with UFC representatives on Wednesday.

Two of the people with knowledge of the NBCUniversal talks said that UFC, which is privately held, could take ownership of 60 percent or more of G4, which is one of the lowest-rated cable channels in Comcast's portfolio. Its target audience of men ages 18 to 34 overlaps nicely with UFC's audience on Spike, a unit of Viacom, which has carried a fighting reality show for the last six years.

According to Stelter, the UFC is looking for a bigger deal this time around from Spike.

Spike's $170 million-a-year deal with UFC for the show, "The Ultimate Fighter," and for live fights expires in six months. Negotiations between Spike and UFC for a new deal started almost one year ago, one of the people said, but broke down after UFC proposed a $325 million-a-year fee, a price that was far steeper than Spike was willing to pay.

You can watch UFC 131 right here on Yahoo! Sports

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Carwin interview: Heavyweight slugger is ready to throw hands with dos Santos

Come Saturday, Shane Carwin may look like a slightly different fighter from a physique standpoint. He's expecting to weigh around 255 pounds, but he's bringing the same attitude when it comes to knocking his opponent's head off against Junior dos Santos.

"I'm gonna stand toe-to-toe. That's type of fighter I am. Let's face it, that's what got both of us where we're at," Carwin told "The MMA Insiders" on ESPNRadio1100 in Las Vegas. "I like my power and I think I have a great chin. I like to stand and bang, and that's what I'm passionate about."

The key to being a knockout puncher is the willingness to stand in the pocket and absorb some big shots if necessary. If he gets blasted in the main event of UFC 131, Carwin already showed he can come off the deck. Back at UFC 96, Gabriel Gonzaga smashed Carwin's nose and floored him, but he kept his cool.

"When Gonzaga hit me, I was stunned for a second or two. We were against the fence and I knew Gonzaga was a black belt, and I didn't want to be underneath him. Once we got back up it was just swinging away again," said Carwin.

Carwin recovered from that broken nose to come back and KO Gonzaga inside of 70 seconds. Every one of Carwin's 12 career wins has come via finish. Dos Santos' resume is nearly as impressive. The power-punching Brazilian has 11 finishes amongst his 12 wins. If this one goes 15 minutes, these guys will likely be beaten and bloodied.

You can watch UFC 131 right here on Yahoo! Sports

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UFC May Enlist Retired NBA Superstar Shaquille O'Neal as Ambassador

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Plenty of celebrities have walked through the doors of an arena to watch a UFC event, from George Clooney to Robert Downey, Jr., to longtime fan Kevin James, who is so fight-crazy that he's currently filming an MMA-themed movie entitled Here Comes the Boom.

Among the longest standing of the celebrity fans though, is recently retired NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal, who has been to numerous major events and has openly talked about a desire to fight professionally.

Whether or not O'Neal follows through on his long-held desire to fight remains unlikely -- he is, after all, 39 years old -- but during a Friday ESPN interview, UFC president Dana White revealed that he recently spoke to O'Neal, who voiced a desire to help the promotion as it continues its worldwide expansion.

"Shaq loves it," White said on ESPN's First Take program. "Shaq's been training for a long time, and actually a week before he retired, Shaq called me and said he wanted to be involved in the UFC somehow. He's always been a good friend to us, and I'm sure you're going to see Shaq around the UFC a lot."

Just what type of role O'Neal would play remains to be seen. O'Neal certainly has no problem getting media attention, as evidenced by his official retirement announcement, in which he invited media into his home for personal interviews.

The larger-than-life star (7-foot-1 for the record) called it quits after a 19-year career which saw him win four NBA championships. He was a 15-time all-star, 2-time scoring champion, and crossed over into mainstream stardom early in his career with movie roles, music albums and television appearances.

In addition to all that, O'Neal is an academic, currently working towards a PhD in Leadership and Education at Barry University in Miami Florida. But that's not enough for him. As he told White, he's going to be looking for other projects, so he hopes to help the growth of a sport in which he believes.

"He's dead serious," White said. "He said, 'Listen, I'm going to have a lot of free time on my hands. I love this sport. I want to be involved. I want to be a part of it.' The fact that he's retiring ... he's been a part of this a long time. He helped us launch season one of The Ultimate Fighter. He's always supported us and always been a good friend. Now that he wants to be involved, I'm more than happy to get him."

 

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Johnson, Swanson out of upcoming fights

Two upcoming UFC cards were hit by the injury bug. Both UFC on Vs. 4 and UFC 132 have changes in their line-up.

First, Anthony Johnson had to withdraw from UFC on Versus 4 because of a reported shoulder injury. He was slated to face Nate Marquardt in the main event and Marquardt's debut at welterweight. Now Rick Story, who just beat Thiago Alves at UFC 130, will step in.

Cub Swanson also had to pull out of his UFC 132 bout with Erik Koch because, according to his Twitter, he broke his face. He even tweeted a picture of the broken face. The UFC is still searching for an opponent for Koch.

Notice that it is now June, and Zuffa's new insurance policy is in effect. Johnson and Swanson should both be covered as they recover from their injuries, and the fights won't be hampered by fighters who aren't Octagon-ready. If you were looking for a tangible benefit of the insurance policy for fighters, this is it.

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Munoz interview: This wrestler isn’t afraid to hit the mat with Maia

Mark Munoz and Chael Sonnen were high level wrestler on the collegiate scene. Munoz was a little more accomplished, but they've both used the same base to put together solid runs in the UFC. So when Munoz looks at how Sonnen did when he faced Demian Maia at UFC 95, it's almost hard to imagine the former Oklahoma State star would risk going to the ground with the jiu-jitsu ace. It took less than three and a half minutes for Maia to submit Sonnen. Munoz disagrees.

"I'm not afraid of the ground game," Munoz said (5:30 mark). "I'm confident when it goes to the mat. I'm definitely going to take the fight where I want and we're going to fight on my terms."

Maia's win over Sonnen was startling. Once he got a hold of Sonnen, he tossed him over his head and fell into the mount where he transition to a triangle. Munoz said there was more to the story. Sonnen explained that he had been hit just a few seconds before and was stunned, which allowed Maia to ragdoll him so easily.

Using advice Sonnen gave him, Munoz just wants to be careful in the clinch and especially if he has top control.

"You just gotta have to be able to posture and not keep your head down so low to be able to get hit," Munoz said. "For me, I drop bombs. That's what I do. Demian knows that."

Munoz (10-2, 7-2 UFC) has been drilling his jiu-jitsu for the last few years with a bevy of Brazilians at Blackhouse MMA in the Los Angeles area. For this camp, Junior dos Santos and the Nogueiras were down in Brazilian, so Munoz had to change things up.

At his own gym, Reign Training Center in Lake Forest, Ca., he worked with Jason "Mayhem" Miller. He also has a partnership with King's MMA in Huntington Beach, Ca., and got to work with Mauricio Rua, Wanderlei Silva, Renato "Babalu" Sobral and Fabricio Werdum.

Meanwhile, Maia worked with Blackhouse's new gym in San Diego. At times, that kind of crossover can irk fighters, but Munoz was far from insulted.

"It's a tangled web we weave, training with certain guys. If you're training with the right guys, you're going to end up fight people or people you know of or the friends of your training partners," Munoz said (8:04 mark). "At the same time, it's one thing to tell somebody that they have something, but it's a whole different thing to actually do it and execute it inside the Octagon."

Surprisingly, Munoz is a minus-130 favorite over Maia. The Filipino has won two straight and 5-of-6 while Maia (14-2, 8-2 UFC), has looked less than stellar recently as he's looked to showcase his striking more in decision wins over Kendall Grove and Mario Miranda.

Check out Larry Pepe from ProMMA.com and Damon Martin from MMAWeekly,com as we break down the Munoz-Maia fight from the betting perspective.

You can watch UFC 131 right here on Yahoo! Sports

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