This is the first part of a two part interview with local MMA fighter, and UFC star Kenny “KENFLO” Florian. In this part of the interview we take a light-hearted look at Kenny. In the second part next week things heat up and Ken gets serious.

TomC: “How did you go from soccer standout in Dover to MMA superstar?”

KENFLO: “I have no idea, ya know what I mean? It’s been a weird long trip it’s just been one thing that kind of led to another. I always was interested in martial arts, did it when I was a kid, soccer took precedence eventually and I went from one love to another which was Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). BJJ is really what had me fall in love with martial arts again. It is what led me to MMA ultimately and it’s been great. I had some opportunities to do some great things I think in soccer, but I’m not sure if either my passion left or just having maybe the wrong coach in College. Whatever the circumstances were I ended up almost leaving soccer for another thing. I don’t think I was encouraged as much by my family. I think they were pushing me to go more of the Lawyer route, or be a professional, and I left that behind and it (BJJ) was kind of my second chance at doing something I really loved. Once I found BJJ and ultimately MMA I definitely wasn’t going to let this pass me by, I wanted to make the most of it, I don’t want to have any regrets and say I could of done this, I could of done that, I wanted to say I did that.”

TomC: ”Say you didn’t fall in love with BJJ, if it wasn’t introduced to you, what do you think you would been doing now?”

KENFLO: “Who knows I’d probably would of ultimately gone on to law school. That was the plan originally; to go on and be a Lawyer. That was really what interested me the most. Who knows maybe I will suck as a fighter and end up being a Lawyer anyway.”

TomC: “I don’t think that’ll happen, but maybe down the road when you retire you can be a lawyer….Ok what are some of your hobbies that you like to do outside of the MMA community?”

KENFLO: “I enjoy doing the promo stuff as far as going out and visiting different people. I just got back from Afghanistan, where I was out there visiting the troops. I enjoy teaching a lot, there’s not much I do that’s not MMA related. Just hanging out with my girl, and hanging out with my family. Ya know, watching a good movie, and trying to travel around and see different places. A lot of times that is MMA related or teaching related but I definitely do enjoy traveling and seeing different places. I’ve been to Thailand, been to Brazil, and all over the U.S. I’ve been blessed to be able to travel and I enjoy doing that and hope to do more of that in the future.”

TomC: ”Speaking of your girlfriend, how long have you two been together?”

KENFLO: “Two and a half years.”

TomC: ”Does she get the ‘pre-fight jitters?’”

KENFLO: “Oh yeah, definitely. She’s pretty confident in what I can do, but she always freaks out and gets really really nervous and excited. She definitely supports me, but if I come with a scratch after training she goes ‘Who did that to you? I can’t believe that happened blah, blah, blah…’ she’s kind of nervous that way but she’s a cool girl man.”

TomC: “That’s cool. I’m on the opposite end of the spectrum. When I usually come home with a scratch it’s usually inflicted by my girlfriend.”

KENFLO: “Hahahahahahaha”

Yeah that’s right TomC is a funny mutha fucka…

TomC: “I’ve seen your MySpace, lots of gangsta rap on there…”

KENFLO: “I love hip-hop man. I love hip-hop a lot. Lil’ Wayne, The Game…I’ve been into hip-hop since I was a kid.”

TomC: “Biggie or Tupac?”

KENFLO: “Biggie. Biggie for sure. I love Tupac, he’s great and all that stuff. Biggie just his, his style, I really love Biggie. He’s East Coast too.”

TomC: “Do you remember the first time you were approached by a fan?”

KENFLO: “Yeah I do, I was at Anna’s Taqueria* in Brookline.”

*Anna’s is without a doubt the bomb diggity

TomC: “NAH! Come on! I used to live right near there. I LOVE that place!”

KENFLO (laughing): “That’s one of my favorite places to eat, when I can eat. I don’t think I’ve had an Anna’s burrito in like a year, but when I am able to eat that’s usually where I go for Mexican food. But yeah I was sitting there and some guy came over to me and asked me if I was Kenny Florian. He was all pumped up and him and his girlfriend came over and took a picture with her cell phone. I was all turning red and embarrassed but it was probably one of the coolest moments…that someone recognized you and appreciates what you do. It was a pretty cool feeling, it was right after the Ultimate Fighter.”

TomC: “Did that put things in a different perspective for you?”

KENFLO: “It was weird. And almost right after that day it was like a snowball effect, that week people started recognizing me and one thing after another. That’s when I kind of felt a little bit what it’s like to be quasi-famous. It’s been great, because again, every opportunity that you fight, every promo, everything you do is another opportunity to get you more and more fans. It’s a humbling experience. It’s a weird experience people knowing your name, knowing your record, knowing what you’ve done. Knowing everything about you, it’s a weird weird feeling. I can’t imagine what it’s like for the really famous people, but it’s a very very cool feeling man.”

TomC: “Would you categorize that moment as your best fan moment, is there one that sticks out and you were thinking ‘This is crazy?’”

KENFLO: “I was at some UFC and I was pinned for literally like two hours, just signing autographs and taking pictures. I was trapped for at least two hours. My friends thought it was cool at first, then they were like ‘we’re getting you the hell out of here.’ It was crazy, it was unbelievable. It was a very cool feeling knowing that they were all these people wanting to shake your hand, or take a picture, sign an autograph. It was hectic, but that was one that really stood out. That was the first time that I got kind of got mobbed. It was kind of a cool thing.

TomC: “Cool but at the same time kind of like whoa?”

KENFLO: “Yeah it was freaky”

TomC: “That shit happens to me at the bars all the time man.”

-I would personally like to thank Kenny for sending a nine yr. old student a gift package. I told Kenny during our interview about David, a young kid who trains at the gym and works really hard on his game, and how Kenny is his favorite fighter. Anyway, Kenny sent him a package of gifts. Thanks again Kenny it meant the world to him-