Winning tonight's Ultimate Fighting Championship bout in Colorado would bring Westwood native Kenny Florian one crucial step closer to winning the UFC Lightweight Championship.
A black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Florian, known as KenFlo to the world of Ultimate Fighting, will battle East Bridgewater native Joe Lauzon. The fighters will use a blend of at least 10 styles known as mixed martial arts, which includes karate, kickboxing, kung fu, wrestling, tae kwon do, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
The UFC Fight Night will air tonight at 7 on Spike TV.
Known for his signature elbow move and his jiu-jitsu, the 31-year-old is considered one of the best lightweights in the UFC. Florian commanded national attention after he was selected in 2005 for The Ultimate Fighter reality show produced by the UFC and Spike TV. His initial contract was $6,000 to fight and $6,000 to win the first three fights.
Now Florian is getting $30,000 to show up and $30,000 to win, he said from Colorado last week. This doesn't include the money he is getting from various sponsors who pay to have him show off their logos.
"The fight has big implications. This fight is very important if I want to get the title," said Florian, who weighed in at 155.5 pounds last night, down from his usual 170-172 pounds after following a strict diet of no more than 30 grams of fat, 240-300 grams of protein, and 120-150 grams of carbohydrates per day.
Fighters typically have to cut down about 20 pounds to meet their regulation weight so they can be as strong as possible in their category, which for Florian is the lightweight. With a range of 146-155 pounds, plus an allowance of 1 pound, it is the leanest of the five UFC categories.
Born in Westwood, Florian lived there for three years before his family moved to Dover.
Fighters compete in their bare feet, said Weinberg, and wear only a mouth guard and protection around their crotch area. The fights take place in an eight-sided cage known as the Octagon.
"The reason why it's blowing up so much (in popularity) is because it goes back to the Gladiator times - they were more powerful than Caesar," said Florian. "People love and respect a warrior. We're seeing that with mixed martial arts. There's a lot of skill, training and discipline that go into it."
Head butting, eye gouging and spitting are among the 31 behaviors forbidden in Ultimate Fighting. If one of the contenders is not knocked out or doesn't submit to his competitor, three judges decide on the winner based on a point system.
Ultimate Fighters do not think about it when they switch from one martial arts technique to the next during a fight, said Florian. Movements like striking and wrestling someone to the ground should be a function of pure muscle memory. "If you're thinking about it that could be a mistake," said Florian.
Florian studied martial arts when he while growing up in Dover, but focused more on soccer as a student at Dover-Sherborn High School, where he was a star player on the varsity team.
As a communications major at Boston College, Florian continued playing soccer, but his childhood interest in martial arts was growing stronger. He and his brother Keith entered a Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament. Keith Florian won first place and Kenny Florian took home the second place prize.
"I just loved everything about the sport. No one is responsible for you except for yourself. I loved the individuality of it," said Florian.
He started training with mixed Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Roberto Maia in Watertown, working on his technique every day. It took him 5<+>1<+>/<->2<-> years to get his black belt.
"I had a decent physical skill for it," said Florian. "The first time I saw it in action, it just made sense to me. It has an immediate connection with the brain. Everything was beautiful and scientific," said Florian. "I believed in it like someone would believe in math. If you add 1 plus 2 you get the same thing every time," he said. "I had great faith in it from day one."
Florian, who speaks both Spanish and Portuguese, was working in the financial division of Crimson Language Services when he decided to devote himself full-time to mixed martial arts training and competition. Florian says he realized what he needed to do after a near death experience while training in Rio de Janeiro, when he nearly slipped to his death while walking down a hill with his friends.
"It made me realize life is super-short," he said. "I don't want to have any regrets. I want to do what makes me happy, passionate and what moves me."
Daily News staff writer Anna Kivlan can be reached at 781-433-8336 or at akivlan@cnc.com
