UFC Lightweight Kenny Florian

View full size photo »

The Boston Herald:

"My goal wasn’t to go out there and say, ‘Hey, look Kenny Florian went longer than anybody else did with B.J. Penn at 155 (pounds) and he was in the best shape of his life,’ " Florian said. "It’s a disappointment and it’s a failure because I didn’t win the fight. The way I’m feeling right now, it’s a tough pill to swallow."

"The goal was to keep it close the whole time," Florian said. "I definitely thought I won the first round (and) I thought I won the third. I know one judge had me winning all three rounds and I think another judge had me winning 2-1. The goal was to try to get him to the fifth round and drown him. I couldn’t afford to make mistakes at that point."

"I really believed that it was going to come down to the wrestling and whoever got on top of who was going to win the fight," Florian said. "I think that was the key for both of us, and B.J. was able to do it. I made the first big mistake and I knew whoever made the first big mistake was probably going to lose the fight and that’s what happened. At the highest levels you can’t afford those kinds of mistakes."

UFC 101: Declaration coverage