6. Kenny Florian
The former UFC lightweight and featherweight title challenger comes in sixth. Outwardly, Florian looks like a normal guy with a typical job, not a fighter. When he joined the cast of the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” there was little to get excited about. He had a record of 2-1, was already 28 years old, and had ordinary physical strength and athleticism. In terms of skills, he had good BJJ but was an average wrestler and a poor striker. Yet even on the show, he already gave hints of his potential. Against the much larger Chris Leben, who was a vastly better striker and at least as good a wrestler, Florian hit him with a beautiful elbow that opened up a giant cut, stopping the fight. After quickly losing to the much larger Diego Sanchez at middleweight (!), little was expected of Florian. His big coming-out party was against talented Canadian striker Sam Stout at lightweight, less than two years after his time on The Ultimate Fighter. Despite even odds, Florian eviscerated Stout, taking him down to the ground immediately, pounding him and advancing position, and sinking in a rear-naked choke. The whole affair lasted 106 seconds and showcased a far different Florian. This one was physically strong for the weight class and a genuinely good wrestler. In future fights, Florian would show off his striking, too. Among the more naturally talented foes he defeated, Florian submitted unfairly forgotten, but very skilled Din Thomas, knocked out Joe Lauzon, clearly outpointed a surging Roger Huerta and promising Diego Nunes, and submitted a prime Clay Guida.
Florian’s most impressive win, though, was a domination of Takanori Gomi in 2010, ending with a third-round submission. That would have been unthinkable in 2005, when Florian was on “The Ultimate Fighter” and Pride champion Gomi was considered the greatest lightweight on the planet. Nor could it be blamed on age, as Florian was over two years younger than the Japanese great. Personally though, I find it very notable that Florian attained a first-round submission of another fellow UFC lightweight contender in Joe Stevenson. I always considered Stevenson a smaller version of Sanchez, with both having highly similar grappling styles and both even training at Jackson-Wink. Yet, while Florian had been flattened in under three minutes by Sanchez in 2005, he was the one tapping out Stevenson in late 2008. A tremendous symbol of his growth as a martial artist. Florian never quite became champion, challenging for the UFC title at lightweight and then featherweight, but losing on both occasions. However, it's notable that the two champions who stopped Florian, Penn and Aldo, are not only inclusions in many top 10 greatest of all time lists—Aldo is No. 1 for me—but are immensely talented to boot. Florian overachieved to a crazy extent, and only the pinnacle of talent and accomplishment stopped him in his title aspirations.
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