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Kenny Florian: I Would Take a Fight with Melvin Guillard | 5thRound.com

Kenny Florian: I Would Take a Fight with Melvin Guillard
Written by Tom Ngo
January 25th, 2011
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While Melvin Guillard believes he’s the best thing to happen to the lightweight division since Anthony Pettis’ “Showtime Kick,” former two-time UFC top contender Kenny Florian claims his controversial counterpart has a ways to go before he knocks on a championship door.

“It doesn’t make sense. There’s a lot of guys working hard. It’s who the best fighter is. If Melvin thinks he deserves a [title] shot over me, he should fight me and beat me,” Florian told Pro MMA Radio (transcribed by MMAMania). “It’s always about who the best fighter is.

“Who has he beaten? What has he done?”

Alright, fine. We’ll do the legwork for you, Kenflo. “The Young Assassin” bumped his extensive record to 27-8-2 (1 NC) following his 1stRound TKO victory of Evan Dunham at “UFC Fight for the Troops 2.” After a roller coaster career, Guillard appears to have found his stride with the help of MMA mastermind Greg Jackson and his talented camp in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

While many have hopped aboard Melvin’s bandwagon, Florian opted to ignore Guillard’s current four-fight winning streak and spotlighted his embarrassing 27-second submission loss at “UFC Fight Night 9″ in April 2007. Florian contends it’s performances like that which are hard to erase from decision-maker’s minds.

“That’s great he’s finally considered a top contender,” Florian added. “Losing to Joe Stevenson in the 1stRound isn’t gonna get you that shot. You have to be consistent. He has to separate himself from the pack.

“I would take that fight.”

Florian holds a respectable 13-5 pro record, finishing all but one of his victims before the final horns have sounded. He’s 0-2 in title fights and was thoroughly trounced by Gray Maynard in a top contender bout in his last outing. Following the unanimous decision loss, UFC president Dana White accused his fellow Bostonian of choking in the big shows.

Florian is currently rehabbing a knee injury that forced him out of this past Saturday’s showdown with Dunham, allowing Guillard to steal the spotlight. The 34-year-old is aiming for an April return.

[rivethead]

That's actually a nice fight. A win would cement Kenny's tenuous grasp in the top 10, a loss would drop him out of it and put Melvin on the fringes, with a huge step toward title contention crossed off.

The timing seems to be good too, I hope it happens.

rh

[Daellusx]

The LW division is fairly stacked right now with quite a few guys who can make a legit case that they deserve the next shot. Pettis, Soto, Guillard, Miller, etc are just a couple off the top of my head. I would prefer to see Guillard vs Soto just cause Soto doesnt seem to get much mention when it comes to fighting for number one contender and he has been on a roll lately. Having Soto vs Guillard would be a great fight and in my opinion would put the winner either next in line (depending on how the Pettis/Guida fight plays out) or 1 win away.

As far as Kenny goes, meh. I cant say i'm too interested in seeing Kenny fight for yet another title shot.

[optimusjoel]

Kenny would wreck melvin. While he isn't as fast or as powerful he has better technique in all areas.

[KevoOnTheRadio]

Originally Posted by optimusjoel

Kenny would wreck melvin. While he isn't as fast or as powerful he has better technique in all areas.

Florian by RNC R1

[NLRepublic]

Love this fight for a million reasons, make it happen

[end it with a left]

This definately has the makings for a sick fight but I would guess that Kenny would be looking to shoot and submit Guillard which would mean a really quick fight. Hope Greg gets Melvins tdd up and Kenny's knee gets better. Floriann sub rnd 1

[0mega1]

im saying it now: if its melvin vs. soto, im taking Melvin KO rd 1.

im kind of on the fence with the florian fight... but i never root for florian so Melvin KO rd 2

[MMA4EVERRR]

So it will be a Greg Jackson fighter against a Firas Zahabi fighter...again.

Kenny took out Guida a year ago but Melvin is just a lot more quicker. As long as he avoids the ground, he will KO Kenny, IMO.

[TBEAR]

Originally Posted by rivethead

That's actually a nice fight. A win would cement Kenny's tenuous grasp in the top 10, a loss would drop him out of it and put Melvin on the fringes, with a huge step toward title contention crossed off.

The timing seems to be good too, I hope it happens.

rh

I agree, it seems like a great fight...the timing is perfect aswell as the matchup

Originally Posted by optimusjoel

Kenny would wreck melvin. While he isn't as fast or as powerful he has better technique in all areas.

Not so fast. Melvin has speed and power to end the night. Most thought Evan would sub Melvin and we saw that did not work.

I think it would be a better fight than the Evan fight but I will not say that Kenny would wreck anyone

Jackson has been working Melvin ground I am sure.