Mike Chiappetta • E-mail

LAS VEGAS - There’s more than one way to the top, you learn when you look closely at the careers of Joe Stevenson and Kenny Florian.

And after Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, one of the two men will be right there at the top, guaranteed a shot at the UFC lightweight title, according to UFC President Dana White.

The two contenders started their lives on opposite sides of the country, took wildly different routes to their fighting careers and suffered setbacks along the way, but will end up in the same place, staring across the cage at each other in the UFC 91 co-main event.

At just 26 years old, Stevenson has already spent nearly a lifetime in mixed martial arts. The Torrance, Calif. native made his pro debut in 1999 at just 16 years old, during a time when the sport was unregulated and simply required signing a waiver to participate. The Mass.-bred Florian, meanwhile, was just starting his fighting career at 26, after playing collegiate soccer and working a few years in the business world.

Their respective forks in the road converge on the night when the UFC is expecting their biggest pay-per-view success ever, and there is plenty on the line for both. While no title is at stake, both Stevenson (29-8) and Florian (10-3) once before fought for the UFC lightweight crown, and know that a win against a respected fighter will move them to the doorstep of gold.

Florian, in particular, has a lot to lose. Prior to his last match against Roger Huerta in August, it was assumed by many that the winner would earn No. 1 contender status in the division. Florian won a unanimous decision victory, but then soon learned that 155-pound champion B.J. Penn decided to challenge 170-pound champion Georges St. Pierre to a superfight. That matchup will take place in January, and Florian didn’t feel like waiting around for Penn to resolve his situation.

Florian is literally risking his title shot, but has no qualms about doing so.

“I really want to work for it,” he said. “I had an opportunity to fight for a title pretty early in my career and now is an opportunity to improve, fight other guys and prove I’m the No. 1 contender. I don’t like saying ‘I deserve this’ or ‘I deserve that.’ I just want to keep fighting tough guys and then we’ll see what happens.”

In the fifth fight of his UFC career and with a 3-1 record, Florian was selected to face off with Sean Sherk for the vacant lightweight title. Florian admits now he wasn’t quite ready for the spotlight, and he was overwhelmed by Sherk in a five-round decision loss. At the time, many thought Florian would fall back into the pack, but he rededicated himself to his craft, hiring a nutritionist and a strength coach that helped him redesign his body into a more functional MMA machine. Since then, five straight wins have followed, including four by TKO or submission.

Florian also studies the game the same way football coaches do: by constantly – even obsessively – breaking down film. He and his brother Keith watch tape of 155-pounders across the world, whether they’re in the UFC or not. If they’re considered a threat, you can bet the Florian brothers already have a file and a game plan in place. This analytical approach has helped make Florian one of the best tactical fighters in the sport, and allowed him to match his strengths with his opponents’ weaknesses.

So what’s the file on Stevenson? Florian spoke generally about Stevenson’s positioning, and how he works hard to force people into his element.

“Definitely, there are patterns you can see in his game,” he said. “A lot of people see patterns there but the question is, Can I stop it? I feel I have the skill in all aspects to stop it, and I’m looking forward to being able to prove that. I feel we have a tremendous game plan for this fight and it’s just up to me to execute it.”

Stevenson essentially fought grown men when he was still a kid, so he certainly won’t be overwhelmed by the moment and what it represents. He is best known for two things: he beat Luke Cummo to win The Ultimate Fighter’s season two, and he lost a title match to B.J. Penn in February of this year. That loss is his only defeat as a lightweight, and he has wins over Yves Edwards, Kurt Pellegrino and Gleison Tibau. But in many ways, Florian represents his biggest test, a fighter at the top of his game.

“First of all, Kenny has tremendous heart and I’m going to take that away from him, snatch it,” Stevenson says. “Not at any point of this fight will he feel he’s winning. I’m not going to let him. On the feet, on the ground, cardiovascularly, strength-wise, flexibility. I don’t care. There’s not going to be one time he’s going to say, ‘I got him here.’ I’m not going to let that happen.”

Stevenson is likely the least known of the four fighters making up UFC 91’s featured bouts. Randy Couture is, of course, a legend; Brock Lesnar brings prior fame with him to the octagon; Kenny Florian has gained a legion of fans from his time on ESPN’s MMA Live show. During Thursday’s press conference, Stevenson did not field a single question until after the media finished and Penn – who is attending the event as a fan – asked him about recently earning his jiu-jitsu black belt.

Stevenson doesn’t let that fact bother him, focusing solely on his date with destiny and regaining another chance.

“I know what it tastes like,” he said. “Once you have a taste, you want to eat and finish it. I’m not stopping until I get that belt.”

Both he and Florian knew after losing their title matches that another opportunity was no sure thing. All they could do is take their own path and hope to meet back in the middle.

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