Kenny Florian may be forced to retire due to a lingering back injury just months after challenging UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo in his most-recent fight, Florian told the Boston Herald on Thursday.
Florian planned on taking time off to move back up to the lightweight division after dropping a unanimous decision to Aldo at UFC 136, but injured his back in November and has been unable to train since.
“It’s possible, unfortunately,” Florian told the Boston Herald. “I’ve kind of been going back-and-forth with some of the doctors, so it’s possible. I’m going to see. As of right now, obviously I can’t compete and train like I was at all. I’m just kind of doing what I can and hoping that things heal up and get better. I’m just kind of in a holding pattern. That’s why I decided to do this commentary for the time being and take this next six months to really heal up and try to make some money on the side. It sucks. The last couple of months I’ve just been figuring out what’s going on and what I’m going to do.”
Florian (14-6) has been a fan favorite since being the runner-up to Diego Sanchez on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, but has struggled against top opponents with losses in all three of his title bouts. Florian dropped to 145-pounds after losing to lightweight contender Gray Maynard in his native Boston in August 2010 and earned a title shot with a single win over Diego Nunes, but was easily outpointed by Aldo.
