(Say it ain’t so, KenFlo.) 

Bad news out of the Boston Herald today, as it is being reported that UFC middleweight lightweight featherweight lightweight contender Kenny “KenFlo” Florian has suffered a lumbar herniated disk in his lower back as a result of an existing weight lifting injury he sustained in November. The injury is apparently so serious that KenFlo’s orthopedist and neurologist have agreed that he should consider retiring from the sport after nearly ten years in the game. Florian was less than positive about his outlook, but believes that every cloud has a silver lining:

[Retirement is] possible, unfortunately. I’ve kind of been going back-and-forth with some of the doctors, so it’s possible. I’m going to see. As of right now, obviously I can’t compete and train like I was at all. I’m just kind of doing what I can and hoping that things heal up and get better. I’m just kind of in a holding pattern. That’s why I decided to do this commentary for the time being and take this next six months to really heal up and try to make some money on the side. It sucks. The last couple of months I’ve just been figuring out what’s going on and what I’m going to do.

It’s not good. That’s why I’m trying to stay hopeful. We’ll see. I’ve been out here in (Los Angeles) doing this show every week for ‘UFC Tonight’ for Fuel TV and doing some other things. I’m just hoping that it can heal up and get better and then see if I can go back to doing what I was doing. So far, I still need to rest. If I go to do something physical, I’m just not able to do it. That pain is coming back.

A 17-fight UFC veteran and three-time number one contender, Florian most recently found himself on the wrong end of a unanimous decision compliments of featherweight champion Jose Aldo back at UFC 136. Afterward, he quickly announced plans to move back to lightweight, where he last dropped a number one contender match to Gray Maynard.

And we gotta say, if this truly is the last we’ve seen of KenFlo in the octagon, then it’s a damn shame. Whether you loved or hated the guy (which was likely dependent on your opinion of how many fights warranted a title shot), you couldn’t deny that he always brought it come fight night. Truly a man of his word, Florian claimed he was in the UFC to “finish fights,” and he sure as shit did, collecting ten of his twelve octagon victories by stoppage. Only Roger Huerta and Deigo Nunes made it the distance with the TUF 1 finalist.

Head over to Kenny’s Twitter page and wish him a full recovery, Potato Nation. Because it’s Friday.

-Danga