Former title contender Kenny Florian became an even closer member of the UFC family after retiring from competition.
He was featured on several broadcasts by the promotion regularly, generally as a commentator. However, he gradually began to fade from view a few years ago, raising concerns among fans.
During a recent interview on The MMA Hour, Florian, now with PFL, described what he feels happened.
“My understanding — and this is what’s been told to me from people inside the company — I guess I said no to being a coach… I was asked to coach on, I think, The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America, one of the early ones back in the day,” Florian said.
“I wasn’t able to do it. It was travel and all of that stuff, and I was doing UFC Tonight, I was doing commentary work, and I just had a lot of stuff going on at home, so I just wasn’t able to really do it.”
Florian said it doesn’t seem to make sense, but he was gradually removed from things. After he stopped doing the commentary, he began working with the PFL.
But before commentating, Florian gained a background in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai. He was recognized for finishing opponents, earning stoppages in 12 of his 14 career victories.
He is one of only fighters in history to compete in four different weight classes in the UFC: middleweight, welterweight, lightweight and featherweight.
“…last year I started doing stuff for the PFL, which has been awesome,” he added.
“It’s been great to call fights, be in that energy, and be right up close to the cage again and that’s been a lot of fun.”