From his early UFC days as a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter to his road towards his upcoming title challenge against BJ Penn, there's at least one thing you can always describe Kenny Florian as: ever-improving.
"You talk about The Ultimate Fighter Finale four or five years ago, whenever that was, I always say my skills were zero," Florian said Tuesday during a media call for UFC 101.
Since then he's added Muay Thai striking to become more than simply a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu artist, and even though he earned himself the opportunity to face Sean Sherk for the title three years ago, his skills as a contender then are nowhere close to the ones he possesses as the fighter he is today.
"Against Sean Sherk I wasn't training like a professional athlete," Florian said. "I wasn't close to where I was technically and physically I'm much, much better – not even close. I think that's what happens when you train year-round. You can get better and much, much faster."
Florian, who prefers the label of a martial artist to one of a fighter, believes his results can be attributed to his work ethic.
"You can't just train when you have fights," Florian said. "I think you drop off. In order to improve things like your aerobic capacity, anaerobic capacity. Taking three weeks off, you lose that. The only way to continuously get better is to train all the time."
His opponent Penn was also asked on Wednesday of the evolution of Florian.
"Without a doubt I see a better fighter," Penn said. "I see that he improved in all areas, and he's much more determined, he's in better shape. He definitely has a lot more experience than the guy that fought Sean Sherk years ago."
Florian upped his training following the loss to Sherk, not always necessarily all-out, but enough to expect gradual improvements to a game which he considers a continuous work-in-progress.
"You always tug away a little bit at a time," Florian said. "My goal every time I go to the gym is just get one percent better. That's it."
"You talk about The Ultimate Fighter Finale four or five years ago, whenever that was, I always say my skills were zero," Florian said Tuesday during a media call for UFC 101.
Since then he's added Muay Thai striking to become more than simply a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu artist, and even though he earned himself the opportunity to face Sean Sherk for the title three years ago, his skills as a contender then are nowhere close to the ones he possesses as the fighter he is today.
"Against Sean Sherk I wasn't training like a professional athlete," Florian said. "I wasn't close to where I was technically and physically I'm much, much better – not even close. I think that's what happens when you train year-round. You can get better and much, much faster."
Florian, who prefers the label of a martial artist to one of a fighter, believes his results can be attributed to his work ethic.
"You can't just train when you have fights," Florian said. "I think you drop off. In order to improve things like your aerobic capacity, anaerobic capacity. Taking three weeks off, you lose that. The only way to continuously get better is to train all the time."
His opponent Penn was also asked on Wednesday of the evolution of Florian.
"Without a doubt I see a better fighter," Penn said. "I see that he improved in all areas, and he's much more determined, he's in better shape. He definitely has a lot more experience than the guy that fought Sean Sherk years ago."
Florian upped his training following the loss to Sherk, not always necessarily all-out, but enough to expect gradual improvements to a game which he considers a continuous work-in-progress.
"You always tug away a little bit at a time," Florian said. "My goal every time I go to the gym is just get one percent better. That's it."