It's not out of the ordinary in boxing for a fighter to work his way up to the No. 1 contender spot, then sit on it while he awaits a shot at the title.

Many boxers would rather play it safe than risk a future title shot even if that means waiting up to a year.

It doesn't work that way in MMA, especially, in the UFC.

Kenny Florian won an emphatic unanimous decision over Roger Huerta, the fast-rising star who became the first MMA fighter to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated in May 2007, at UFC 87 in August to become the top contender in the UFC's lightweight division.

But UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn decided to move up in weight to face UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre in a rematch at UFC 94 on Jan. 31 in Las Vegas. That leaves the UFC lightweight title picture in limbo for the time being. And it leaves Florian without a second title shot.

“I heard the rumblings before the Huerta fight,” Florian said. “I was kind of prepared for that. It doesn't matter to me that I didn't get the shot at the belt now. As long as I'm fighting tough guys I know that belt will come. I just gotta keep on winning.”

Florian wasn't going to sit around and wait and he didn't want to take on some stiff in a tune-up fight. Florian will go up against another of the world's top 155-pounders when he takes on Joe “Daddy” Stevenson in the semi-main event of UFC 91 on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on pay-per-view.

“I just love to fight,” Florian said. “I think every fight is a risk. That's what got me here was fighting the toughest guys. It will just solidify myself that much more as the No. 1 contender. It will be an opportunity to learn that much more from this fight and get better. I know when it's my time to fight for the title I can recall all these experiences. I'm definitely ready. I've had a look at a bunch of different fighters. Here I am. I have that experience, you know, let's get it on.”

Florian, who was one of the stars on the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” has been on a five-fight winning streak since turning in a valiant effort in a bloody decision loss to Sean Sherk for the vacant UFC 155-pound title in 2006. Florian said he has learned a lot and changed a lot since the fight against Sherk.

“It was huge,” Florian said. “At the time, I wasn't doing half of what I am now. I wasn't training like a professional fighter. That really pushed me over the edge. I said, ‘You know what? If I'm going to do this, I better do it right. I gotta do what those guys are doing at the elite level.'

“I had to find every little opportunity to win. That meant hiring a full-time strength and conditioning coach and a nutritionist, getting the guys on my team, the best guys I can train with. Everything, whatever it took to be the best. That's what I was gonna do. I committed myself, six days a week, two or three times a day to training whether I had a fight or not. There is no offseason. That's helped me a lot.

“I want to show people how far I've come. It's been over two years now since that opportunity, and now I realize how important that opportunity is to get a title shot. It's going to be that much sweeter when I get there a second time to really appreciate it and make the most of it when my time comes.”

Stevenson is very strong for the 155-pound weight class. He has dangerous submissions, especially, with his guillotine choke. His boxing is much improved and he is a good wrestler.

Florian has become a well-rounded mixed martial artist. He was always gifted with his Brazilian Jiu-Jistu skills and he has added excellent Muay Thai striking to his game. He also possesses some vicious elbows on the ground.

Basically, both fighters are well-rounded with few holes in their games, which should make for an excellent semi-main event that could outshine the heavyweight showdown between UFC champion Randy Couture and former NCAA wrestling champion/pro wrestling star Brock Lesnar in the main event.

“It's huge, especially, for me and Joe because we get to fight right before the main event,” Florian said. “We're the second to last fight of the night. What an opportunity for us to fight in front of a lot of new fans and, maybe, people who haven't seen mixed martial arts at all. It's just an awesome opportunity for us to get our names known. In order to make it known, you have to be the winner and that's what I plan on doing. I want to be the guy Nov. 15, so a lot of people know my name for the next fight.”

NOTES

A couple thousand tickets remain for UFC 91. Call (800) 929-1111 or (702) 891-7777 or go online at ticketmaster.com for tickets ($75-$1,000).

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