Diego (right) and Florian in staredown / Photo: Josh Hedges
Diego Nunes is stuck in a situation that to many in MMA, mainly to Brazilian fighters, is a bit of a quagmire. This evening he takes on Kenny Florian at UFC 131 in Canada. Riding a three-fight win streak and holding a record of just one loss in 17 fights, the Nova União rep could earn a shot at the UFC featherweight title, now held by teammate José Aldo.
“I always have my sights on what’s coming up next, not what could happen later. Now I’m focused on Florian and what I can do to beat him. My objective is the best and I can’t imagine, not for a hundredth of a second, what may happen after this fight. Aldo’s my brother, friend and training partner. I can’t deny that we’ve already discussed this with our coach and managers before,” Nunes said on the UFC website.
However, the task at hand is Florian, who dropped down a division for tonight’s challenge.
“Wait and have faith. For now my future holds one thing: Florian. The rest comes later and only later, if it comes,” he said.
“I know he’s a guy with all kinds of professionals to help him prepare for a new weight class, but training is training and a fight’s a fight. I can’t see him being 100% for this new division. I’ve been in it since 2008 and believe he’ll be missing something. I don’t know if it will be endurance or strength, but I see myself as having a bit of an advantage,” said “The Gun” in closing.
Check out the UFC 131 card:
UFC 131
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
June 11, 2011
Junior Cigano vs. Shane Carwin
Kenny Florian vs. Diego Nunes
Jon Olav Einemo vs. Dave Herman
Demian Maia vs. Mark Munoz
Donald Cerrone vs. Vagner Rocha
Yves Edwards vs. Sam Stout
Jesse Bongfeldt vs. Chris Weidman
Mike Massenzio vs. Krzysztof Soszynski
James Head vs. Nick Ring
Dustin Poirier vs. Jason Young
Joey Beltran vs. Aaron Rosa
Darren Elkins vs. Michihiro Omigawa
