UFC veteran and ESPN’s “MMA Live” co-host Kenny Florian announced his retirement on Thursday, citing his inability to come back from a back injury.
The 36 year old Florian retires as the only man to compete in the UFC at four different weight classes and finishes with a career record of 14-6.
Florian told UFC.com: “It was something I’ve been thinking about since November and it probably wasn’t until the last couple months where I really saw it (retirement) as a viable option. When you’ve fought as long as I have and trained as long as I have, you become what you do, and that’s all you know. It’s tough to do anything else, but in the end, I have so many things going on, from my gym back in Boston to the commentary and all that stuff, that I’m so lucky that I have all these other things in my life and I can still be a part of the sport that I love.”
During his career Florian racked up wins over the likes of Joe Stevenson, Clay Guida, Takanori Gomi, Joe Lauzon, Roger Huerta, Din Thomas and Sam Stout among others. He fought for a title three times during his career, once for the vacant lightweight title against Sean Sherk and for that same title against BJ Penn, and once for the featherweight title against current champion Jose Aldo.
Florian will continue his broadcasting career and is planning on opening a gym in his new home of Los Angeles.
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