UFC 131, 6.11.2011, Van, BC (Carwin vs. Dos Santos)

Post #1 » by **CPT** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 2:30 am

Kenny Florian is going to be the first big name to drop down to 145 now that the division is in the UFC.

http://mmajunkie.com/news/22536/kenny-f ... couver.mma

After dropping hints of a possible move to 145 pounds, two-time lightweight title challenger Kenny Florian (14-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) erased all doubts.

On the latest edition of ESPN's "MMA Live" series, Florian announced he'll meet Brazilian featherweight Diego Nunes (16-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) at June's UFC 131 event.

MMAjunkie.com (http://www.mmajunkie.com) has since verified that both fighters have verbally agreed to the fight and that bout agreements are expected to be finalized shortly.

UFC 131, which is expected to take place June 11 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It's currently unknown if the Florian vs. Nunes fight will factor into the evening's main card.

For Florian, the move confirms he'll now compete in an incredible fourth different weightclass for the UFC.

More important than it being Kenny Florian (who is one of the biggest names at LW) it shows that UFC LWs may really be considering a move down to FW in the near future. I'm guessing it means the money will be there.

I thought I heard something about Tyson Griffin dropping down as well, and there would definitely be some other guys who would look better at 145.

I'm excited to see how Kenny Florian looks at FW (Nunes is a pretty tough guy to jump in there against), but I'm even more excited to see some more guys at their ideal weight class.

REDDzone · Post #2 » by **REDDzone** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 2:38 am

Kind of surprised by this. THE DAY of the merger I said I could see KenFlo and Griffin moving down.

Then was reading Kenny's twitter and apparently others were having the same sentiment, because K-Flo responded something like "guys, I weight 170 right now, there's no way I can make 145, I'm staying at LW" (paraphrasing).

Thought that was put to rest. Apparently not!

Posey H8er · Post #3 » by **Posey H8er** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 3:10 am

it's possible for him to lose 10 pounds naturally in a couple months (assuming he is still at that weight). then the weight cut would only be 15 pounds.

Post #4 » by **CPT** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 3:30 am

Strangely, a lot of the guys that first come to mind as candidates to drop to FW were already in the WEC.

I think Ben Henderson, Cerrone, and possibly Pettis would do better at FW. Henderson has always looked small to me. Cerrone is tall, but he doesn't seem to be carrying/cutting much weight. He's actually talked about moving down before as well. Pettis can probably hang at LW. Maybe it's just his movement that has me thinking he's small.

As for established UFC guys, people have long been talking about Guida moving down. I think Mac Danzig would benefit from moving down as well.

Nemesis21 · Post #5 » by **Nemesis21** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 4:08 am

CPT wrote:Kenny Florian is going to be the first big name to drop down to 145 now that the division is in the UFC.

http://mmajunkie.com/news/22536/kenny-f ... couver.mma

After dropping hints of a possible move to 145 pounds, two-time lightweight title challenger Kenny Florian (14-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) erased all doubts.

On the latest edition of ESPN's "MMA Live" series, Florian announced he'll meet Brazilian featherweight Diego Nunes (16-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) at June's UFC 131 event.

MMAjunkie.com (http://www.mmajunkie.com) has since verified that both fighters have verbally agreed to the fight and that bout agreements are expected to be finalized shortly.

UFC 131, which is expected to take place June 11 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It's currently unknown if the Florian vs. Nunes fight will factor into the evening's main card.

For Florian, the move confirms he'll now compete in an incredible fourth different weightclass for the UFC.

More important than it being Kenny Florian (who is one of the biggest names at LW) it shows that UFC LWs may really be considering a move down to FW in the near future. I'm guessing it means the money will be there.

I thought I heard something about Tyson Griffin dropping down as well, and there would definitely be some other guys who would look better at 145.

I'm excited to see how Kenny Florian looks at FW (Nunes is a pretty tough guy to jump in there against), but I'm even more excited to see some more guys at their ideal weight class.

I heard that too.

High 5 · Post #6 » by **High 5** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 4:12 am

The more potential opponents for Aldo the better. I wanted to see him move up to LW, but if guys start coming to him then that's just as well.

REDDzone · Post #7 » by **REDDzone** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 4:35 am

Maybe Kenflo chasing Aldo since Jose already ducked him at LW.

jk

cowboyronnie · Post #8 » by **cowboyronnie** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 5:25 am

Kenny does not want to be doing 15 pounds of water weight-cutting, no way. It's not his approach to training, to show up drained to the fight.

This will be really difficult for him.

Remember that it's one thing for a 200 pounds guy to cut those "15" in the sauna and a way more difficult task for a 165 pound guy. a) it's a much larger portion of the latter guy's body and b) muscle mass is the easiest to dehydrate, with the 200 pound guy surely having a lot more of it.

Starkiller · Post #9 » by **Starkiller** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 12:34 am

Was Kenny MW on TUF or were they WW? Dude's dropping 3 weight classes? :lol:

Wow.

REDDzone · Post #10 » by **REDDzone** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 12:37 am

MW, but says on the show that he's a natural LW.

Who did Florian ever fight at WW out of curiosity?

Post #11 » by **CPT** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 12:47 am

REDDzone wrote:MW, but says on the show that he's a natural LW.

Who did Florian ever fight at WW out of curiosity?

Karalexis and Cope, back when the UFC didn't have a LW division.

Starkiller · Post #12 » by **Starkiller** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 12:55 am

REDDzone wrote:MW, but says on the show that he's a natural LW.

Who did Florian ever fight at WW out of curiosity?

Oh so he put on weight to be on the show? I didn't know that.

Post #13 » by **CPT** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 1:06 am

Starkiller wrote:
REDDzone wrote:MW, but says on the show that he's a natural LW.

Who did Florian ever fight at WW out of curiosity?

Oh so he put on weight to be on the show? I didn't know that.

That first season was really weird for weight classes.

Sanchez, Florian, and Koscheck, all WWs or smaller, were the class of the MW fighters. I think Sanchez and Koscheck actually made 185, but I think Florian was usually in the 170s.

Mike Swick, a MW, was fighting at LHW, but weighing in at like 192 IIRC.

REDDzone · Post #14 » by **REDDzone** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 1:13 am

CPT wrote:
REDDzone wrote:MW, but says on the show that he's a natural LW.

Who did Florian ever fight at WW out of curiosity?

Karalexis and Cope, back when the UFC didn't have a LW division.

Weird, isn't Karalexis a 145er these days? Or did I just think that because he fought in WEC?

REDDzone · Post #15 » by **REDDzone** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 1:15 am

CPT wrote:That first season was really weird for weight classes.

My favorite part about that is Swick/Leben had recently fought at the time of the show.

Swick was at 205 and Leben at 185. Nowadays Swick is at 170. Weird to think about.

Randy was making comments during the show like "Swick you're talented but I'm not sure you're a true LHW."

No **** dude's a WW. :lol:

Gave Bonnar a fight, though.

Think about it, what if dude had fought Southworth. It would have been a natural HW versus a natural WW.

Post #16 » by **CPT** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 2:24 pm

http://www.tatame.com/2011/02/21/Coach- ... r-UFC-130-

Looks like the winner of this fight gets a title shot...as long as the winner is Kenny Florian. Nunes won't fight Aldo, so unless Hominick is the champ, it pretty much means Florian is getting fast tracked to the title.

Sucks for Chad Mendes, but he's got plenty of time to get his shot. Makes sense to get Aldo in a big fight with a guy people already know ASAP. All the highlight packages in the world won't make him a true UFC star until he beats someone the UFC fans have seen before.

SDM · Post #17 » by **SDM** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 2:29 pm

It makes sense. Mendes would put Florian on the mat and there goes golden boy at 145.

Post #18 » by **CPT** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 2:41 pm

They should have Mendes fight Manny Gamburyan or Leonard Garcia (there's one guy I'd actually like to see get LNP'd, though he might still win the decision) on the main card of a show before giving him a title shot.

cowboyronnie · Post #19 » by **cowboyronnie** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 6:23 pm

Don't be so sure that Aldo's still the champ come May. It's not a guarantee. In which case, Nunes has a shot.

Nunes had a beautiful last fight. He's a super exciting guy. 145 is stacked.

Nemesis21 · Post #20 » by **Nemesis21** » Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:40 am

Cerrone/Danzig added to this card.

http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Lightw ... down-30847

Fights confirmed for this card,

Brock/JDS
Carwin/TBD
Maia/Munoz
Soszynski/Perosh
C McGee/Bongfeldt
Cerrone/Danzig

Fights in the works to get on this card,

Florian/Nunes
Stout/Y Edwards
Yahya/Poirier
Herman/Broughton

Solid card if it stays true and wonder who Carwin will fight ?