"It doesn't matter to me where this fight goes. I believe that the fight is going to stay standing for the majority of it, but I'm ready to fight him on the ground. I'm even ready to fight him off of my back. I know I can hurt him from my back and beat him up from my back and submit him from my back. I'm ready for anything that this fight may bring and I can't waitÂ…Hopefully Joe is the guy that will push me and make me pull the tricks out of the bag," stated UFC lightweight contender Kenny Florian as he talked about his upcoming clash with Joe Stevenson. Check out what else he had to say about the fight and much more.
PC: How is preparation going for your fight with Joe Stevenson at UFC 91?
KF: Real good man. Everything is right on schedule. My weight is great, my training is going phenomenal and we're getting a lot of great people in here to train with. I couldn't ask for a better camp.
PC: How does Joe differ from your last 2 or 3 opponents?
KF: He's tough man. He's tough everywhere. A lot of people are comparing him to a Sean Sherk. He's short, strong and compact and is a good wrestler with great submission skills. He's really good on the ground. He even has better submission skills than Sherk. He's probably not as fast, but is definitely better on the ground than Sherk. He's got phenomenal submissions and he's taking people out left and right with his guillotine. He's an Ultimate Fighter winner and has been around the game for a long time. He's very experienced so I want to see how far I've come.
PC: You like throwing hard elbows from inside your opponent's guard. With his dangerous guillotine choke, is it imperative that you not overcommit and get your head caught in there?
KF: The key is going to be the way that I position my head. I have to make sure it doesn't get off to the side of his body where he could just snatch it up and go for that guillotine. I'll have to use a lot of good posture and work my ground and pound without getting wreckless.
PC: Joe let me know that he feels the biggest difference in this fight will be raw strength. What do you feel will be the difference that separates you guys?
KF: I think the fact that I'm more well-rounded than he is. I think I have a longer reach and I'm more well-rounded. I think I can beat him everywhere. For me, even in the wrestling because everyone says his wrestling is so good, but I want to test that too. I want to see if he could take me down. I'm ready. I've trained very hard and I'm looking forward to this fight.
PC: Both of you guys have fought for the title. You fought Sherk and he fought Penn. Who do you feel gained the most experience in your title shot defeats?
KF: The Sherk fight really made me a completely different fighter. Joe Stevenson was pretty much the same fighter. He's already been fighting for a long time. I was still very new to the game when I fought Sherk. I wasn't doing a quarter of the things I'm doing now, nor did I have the training I have now. I'm a completely different fighter because of that and I think I gained more experience going 5 rounds with Sherk in my loss than he did going 2 or 3 rounds with BJ. He never even really got a chance to get going and I learned a lot of what I need to do. I had to get stronger, my wrestling had to get better and I had to get my feet quicker so I think I learned more.
PC: A lot of people felt you would be fighting for that title again by now. What keeps you patient through this entire process?
KF: For me, I've always taken it one fight at a time. I've never looked ahead. I take every fight seriously. I never try to jump the gun. I take it one fight at a time and I'm just glad I'm fighting in the UFC against top competition because that's what I want to do. Every fight is a risk and I have to keep on winning. I'll just keep taking it one fight at a time and work my way to the title whenever it comes.
PC: We saw you corner Kurt Pellegrino. You do MMA Live and you own Florian Martial Arts Center now. How tough is it getting to juggle everything and stay on top of your fight game?
KF: It's tough. It's definitely a balancing act. I gotta pick and choose what I can do. I've actually had a couple offers for movies. I had one offer during this training camp that was going to bring me to California for a few days and I had to say no to it. I know that fighting is always going to be my first priority because that's what got me where I am today to open up these other opportunities. Fighting comes first, ESPN second and everything after that, I plan accordingly. I have good people around me to help manage my time. My brother has been great with helping me out with the school and my own training so I'm really lucky to have good people around me to help with all of my other endeavors.
PC: Stevenson is expecting a standup fight with you. Are you comfortable fighting Joe at any area of the Octagon?
KF: I really believe that. It doesn't matter to me where this fight goes. I believe that the fight is going to stay standing for the majority of it, but I'm ready to fight him on the ground. I'm even ready to fight him off of my back. I know I can hurt him from my back and beat him up from my back and submit him from my back. I'm ready for anything that this fight may bring and I can't wait. I want to show the people all of my tools. I haven't really had a chance to show all of my skills in my fights. I haven't gone that deep as far as layers in mixed martial arts. Hopefully Joe is the guy that will push me and make me pull the tricks out of the bag. I'm ready for it and wherever this fight goes, I will be ready for it and I will have the upper hand.
PC: BJ opened up a nasty cut on Stevenson's forehead. As much as you like to use your elbows, will you be looking to reopen that wound?
KF: I never really think about the elbows in that manner. I know Joe Stevenson made a comment about I just throw elbows to cut people. I've never thrown an elbow to cut people. I throw them to hurt and obviously, with the elbow, it cuts a lot. Joe Stevenson should know that. He cut Yves Edwards with a big elbow and he mentioned before the BJ fight that he was going to lick the cut if he got on top so it's funny that he made that comment. For me, if I'm in a situation to throw an elbow, I'm going to throw it and if I'm in a situation to throw a punch, I'm going to throw it. My body just kinds of does it. I train everywhere so much that I don't even think when I'm out there I just go out and do it. I follow the gameplan that I trained for, but I train my hands and feet to just react. I go from muscle memory. If I'm in a situation to throw it, I'm definitely going to throw it and it's going to be to hurt him and if it cuts him, it cuts him. Fine! But I'm looking to finish him. I want to knock him out or submit him.
PC: How much has Mark DellaGrotte and Kevin Kearns helped your overall game?
KF: They help me a lot. After the show, DellaGrotte helped out my Muay Thai a lot. He's really helped bring me along in my game and put it all together in mixed martial arts. Kevin Kearns has been great. I started working with him after the Sean Sherk fight. That was the first time I had a full-time strength and conditioning coach and whether I'm training for a fight or not, I'm working with him all of the time. I work with him and my brother the most. I work with Kevin Kearns and my brother Keith the most. They are around me all of the time, whether I have a fight coming up or not, and they are a huge part of my success. My brother helps my Jiu Jitsu and just putting the gameplan together. My boxing coach, Peter Welsch, has been huge and my wrestling partners have been awesome as well. It's definitely a team effort that plays a big part.
PC: What type of entrance music can we expect my man?
KF: It's going to be a little old school remix that I got planned. I'm not wearing nothing crazy as far as the outfit. Just some hot "One More Round" gear. I got a cool song that's remixed and I think it's awesome. I had a custom song made by DJ Revolution and Special Teams out of Boston put it together for me, but the UFC isn't allowing custom songs anymore unfortunately. I'll have it available on my website; it's pretty sick. In any event, I'm looking forward to coming out there and hearing the Vegas crowd. It's been awhile since I fought in Vegas so I'm looking forward to it.
PC: Good luck my man. I look forward to this fight. Is there anything you want to say in closing?
KF: I just want to thank all of the fans for their support. Tell everyone to check out www.kennyflorian.com and if they're in Boston, check out www.florianmartialartscenter.com.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]