Persistent Back Injury May Force UFC's Kenny Florian Into Retirement

In a report this evening from the Boston Herald it was revealed that a back injury suffered by Kenny Florian last November during weight training has continued to be a serious problem. The injury, a herniated disc in Florian's lumbar (lower back) region, has left the three-time UFC title contender with tingling and numbness running down his right leg. With no signs of improvement in the last two months, Florian has been urged by both an orthopedic doctor and a neurologist to walk away from the fight game.

Florian, in light of these developments, has been relatively frank about his future with the sport. From the Herald...

"It’s possible, unfortunately," Florian said of his career ending. "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."

[...]

"It’s not good," Florian said. "That’s why I’m trying to stay hopeful. We’ll see. I’ve been out here in (Los Angeles) doing this show every week for ‘UFC Tonight’ for Fuel TV and doing some other things. I’m just hoping that it can heal up and get better and then see if I can go back to doing what I was doing. So far, I still need to rest. If I go to do something physical, I’m just not able to do it. That pain is coming back."

Florian most recently fought Jose Aldo for the UFC featherweight title. It was his third such attempt, with previous title bids against Sean Sherk and B.J. Penn coming at lightweight. The 35-year-old was a member of the inaugural Ultimate Fighter, for which he competed at middleweight, a remarkable forty pounds above his current class. Despite a disadvantage in size, Florian fought his way to the finals, where he suffered a TKO loss to Diego Sanchez, one of only two times Florian has been finished in the cage. The second time came in his championship fight with Penn.

If his October 2011 fight with Aldo were to be his last, it would cap off a career nine years long and twenty bouts deep, during which time Florian amassed a record of 14-6-0 and earned a reputation for his well-rounded offensive arsenal and admirable killer instinct.