Kenny Florian Parts Ways With Mark Dellagrotte

Two-time challenger to the UFC lightweight title, Kenny Florian is parting ways with Mark Dellagrotte and Sityodtong to begin training with Georges St. Pierre’s trainer at the Tri-Star Gym in Montreal.

The move may come as a surprise to most but there had been reports of some discontent between Florian and Dellagrotte while he was training for his bout with UFC lightweight champion, B.J. Penn at UFC 102 last month.

Leaving Sityodtong also means no longer working with strength and conditioning coach Kevin Kearns.

Florian has come a long way since his days as a middleweight on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter. He was riding a six fight winning streak that included wins over Joe Stevenson, Joe Lauzon, Din Thomas and Roger Huerta before being submitted in the fourth round by Penn.

The head trainer at TriStar gym is Firas Zahabi who is credited with helping GSP become one of the top fighters in the world. St. Pierre splits time between TriStar and down in New Mexico where he trains with Greg Jackson.

Florian will take on Clay Guida at UFC 107 in December as he prepares to rebound from a devastating loss to Penn. Many fighters, fans and pundits have said that Florian has become one of the best all around lightweights in the UFC, so one will have to wonder if breaking away from DellaGrotte, who is one of the best striking coaches in MMA, is a smart idea.

Thanks to Fighter’s Only for the story.
We will find out on December 12th as Guida will certainly be a tough test for Florian and his new coaches.