OK, I don’t think Jose Aldo is scared of Kenny Florian, but there’s definitely some sentimants that show that Aldo’s management is scared of KenFlo. Rightly so, Florian is one of the best in the UFC Lightweight Division and would be a huge test for the Featherweight Champion’s debut at the 155lb Division. Here are my reasons why they declined the fight:

1. Florian is widely considered one of the best at Lightweight

Although Florian has never been the UFC Lightweight Champion, there’s no doubt that he’s one of the best. It takes a ton of talent and perseverance to climb the mountain twice, you can’t discount him that. Aldo’s manager says he wants to fight a (Former) Champion, but is Sean Sherk really a better opponent? That’s what the management would like to push for. Come on now, Florian’s name is big.

2. This fight was risky, doesn’t want to lose debut

There’s a lot of risk here for Aldo to fight Florian. If he lost to Florian in his debut, that would stifle his hopes to ever go up for a while. Aldo is definitely a candidate for winning titles in several different weight classes, and Lightweight is one of them. You got to protect your fighter and I believe his manager doing just that here.

3. Florian would come in with dynamic striking game

Aldo hasn’t fought a dynamic striker in his MMA career. The only fighter that may come close to one is Urijah Faber, but I feel Florian has such a goad mix of boxing and kickboxing. His length and boxing are very crisp, and he has some vicious leg kicks that can dig into opponent’s thighs. It would have been nice to see a counterpuncher in Florian take on the beast of Aldo — too bad.

4. Florian a smart fighter and comes from a smart camp

Florian comes out of the same camp as Georges St. Pierre under Firas Zahabi of Zahabi MMA. They’re known for coming up with great game plans since they work with Greg Jackson MMA. Florian is a consummate student of MMA and will probably come in with a very well though out game plan against Aldo.

5. Florian is a naturally bigger fighter

Florian may not look big since he’s very lanky, but he’s a big guy for the Lightweight Division. He initially came to the UFC at the Middleweight Division. With his size, and Aldo coming up in weight — he’s the fighter more used to the weight division.

I personally would have loved to see this fight happen, but I’m not complain about Jose Aldo vs. Josh Grispi and Kenny Florian vs. Evan Dunham — both great fights. 

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QUESTION: Was it the right decision for Jose Aldo to decline the fight?