Kenny Florian has officially been tapped the color commentator for the UFC's second broadcast team.
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today confirmed the new position with UFC officials.
Florian, a current UFC fighter and three-time title challenger, debuts with play-by-plan man and fellow recent hire Jon Anik at Friday's UFC on FX 1 event.
Anik and Florian will handle all broadcast duties not taken by the primary team of Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan. Most of the "B team's" events will air on FX, such as Friday's show at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena, and FUEL TV. Both are FOX-owned channels that have taken over the smaller UFC events that previously aired on Spike TV and Versus.
Florian, 35, is no stranger to the broadcast booth. The fighter, who previously hosted "MMA Live" on ESPN (with Anik) and now anchors "UFC Tonight" on FUEL TV (with Todd Harris), previously has filled in for Rogan. For example, when "Fear Factor" taping prevented Rogan from attending this past August's UFC 134 event, Florian filled in as the night's color commentator.
"It's really a vision I had since we started working on 'MMA Live' together – that'd we'd be calling UFC fights together," Anik said. "I just really think he's such a natural at it, and he's got a gift of simplifying things. ... He's going to make my life much easier."
In addition to Florian, fighters such as Frank Mir, Rich Franklin and Stephan Bonnar were considered for the open broadcaster's slot (and could still be used in the future).
Recently, Florian has hinted at a possible retirement from fighting due to a back injury, but he hasn't ruled out a return.
Florian (14-6 MMA, 12-5 UFC), who first joined the UFC as an undersized middleweight runner-up on "The Ultimate Fighter 1," twice fought for the lightweight title and once for the featherweight belt. Outside of title fights and title eliminators, he owns a 12-1 UFC record, which includes a 9-1 mark from 2005 to 2008.
Source: Kenny Florian tapped color commentator for UFC broadcasting 'B team'
He is enthusiastic and knows what he is talking about. Thumbs up from me 