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Most MMA athletes have incredible stories that prompt their careers in the grueling sport. A former UFC fighter and The Ultimate Fighter season 1 finalist recently opened up about a powerful story that paved the way for him as an MMA fighter.
24 years later, UFC veteran Kenny Florian recalled an incident in Rio de Janeiro that nearly took his life. However, he summed it up as it was the worst best thing that happened to him.
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'Ken-Flo' described his life before the incident:
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"I was in Brazil. I was training Jiu Jitsu. I was married at the time... I was like 23 years old... I was working a full-time job but anytime I have time off I would always go and train. I was preparing for a jiujitsu tournament. And as a kind of workout we would always climb this mountain in Rio de Janeiro called Pedra de Gabia... That's where Rolls Gracie actually died to hang gliding."
Florian went into detail about the scary incident:
"It was really wet. and I had slipped... My friend went to grab me... and could not hold on... I felt a bunch of air underneath me and I was falling... It was probably like a 20 feet drop... I ended up falling on like, a ledge... And if I didn't fall on that ledge I would have fallen like hundreds of feet... I'm not sure I would have survived that one."
The fighter explained how the incident impacted him:
"During the fall I kind of had... like near-death experience where I kind of saw my whole life flash before my eyes and the one thing that really resonated with me was - I can't believe I didn't follow my dreams. I can't really believe I didn't follow what I really wanted to do."
Kenny Florian took the courage to tell his family he was going to quit his day job and pursue a career in martial arts.
Despite early struggles, Florian eventually made it to the UFC and was part of some of the most iconic matches in the company's history. He competed in 20 professional MMA fights with a 14-6 record. 'Ken Flo' competed in multiple UFC championship bouts in various divisions. However, he couldn't get the coveted UFC gold.
Yet, Florian is considered one of the best fighters to step inside the octagon. And the UFC veteran still maintains that one incident in Brazil freed him from all the fears he had about making a career in martial arts.
