Kamloops, B.C. Fans Get Suprise Visit From "Kenflo" Kenny Florian

Photography By: MichaelArthurPhotography.Com

Charles R - The fans out in Kamloops, British Columbia got the news that their favourite fighter Anderson 'The Spider' Silva was not going to show up due to border issues beyond his control.  Instead, the fans got a suprise treat.  Kenny Florian flew in on a days notice to participate in a city wide Popeyes/Nutrabolics autograph signing tour.

Popeye's Supplements Kamloops (www.kamloopsnutrition.com) (A part of www.popeyescanada.com the largest nutrition and sport nutrition chain in Canada.  Head Office is Edmonton - 100% Canadian owned).  Nutrabolics and Popeyes were the reason why UFC fighter Kenny Florian was in town last weekend.

Anderson Silva was unable to attend due to border issues which have not been disclosed.  Kenny Florian, fresh off his UFC victory 2 weeks ago over Joe Stevenson, made the visit to Vancouver to meet his fellow Canadian fans.

I had a chance to speak with Sandy Pembroke, the owner of Popeyes Supplements Kamloops. His overall thought on the situation that occured with Anderson, "It was quite unfortunate.  We were very excited to bring the biggest name in
the fastest growing sport in the world to Kamloops.  We spent a lot of time
and money to promote this across BC.  We were severely disappointed."

Sandy knew that the many fans were not dissapointed, due to the fact that they still got to meet one of their UFC hero's, Kenny Florian. Kenny flew in on a days notice and the crowd just went wild! "Kenny was originally an ADDITION to the 'card'.  Meaning we and the crowd were going to get to meet both Florian and Silva!  This was a last minute surprise '2 for 1' deal for the fans from www.nutrabolics.com and us at Popeye's Supplements www.kamloopsnutrtion.com" states Sandy.

Sandy also states "I was fortunate enough to spend a couple of days with Kenny. To sum him up - Kenny KenFlo Florian is a pure gentleman.  An absolute pleasure to host. We worked him hard!  I kept asking him if he was worried about carpal tunnel syndrome setting in as he signed over 5,000 autographs!He was an instant hit! Part-way through the appearance time, we were told that Silva wouldn't make it.  Then Kenny really had HUGE shoes to fill.  And I truly believe we hit the lottery numbers when it happened to be KenFlo filling those shoes. After the 'no-show' announcement - Kenny saved our collective butts - he grabbed the microphone!  Kenny did what Kenny does, and wooed, thrilled, and amazed the crowd with his presence, panache, and charm. For those that don't realize - Kenny does a lot of on-air stuff - including co-hosting some of the UFC events!  So he was more than qualified to do what he did for us.  The great thing is that his humility allowed him to jump in at any crazy turn the weekend had - and save the day for us." explains Sandy to MMACanada.net.

The fans in the west coast of Canada do not see this type of action everyday, bringing a UFC star to the small city of Kamloops definately poses future interest. "There could be nothing bigger.  This was as big as it gets. Hopefully this starts to open the doors for all municipalities to allow the great sport of mixes-martial-arts throughout BC. (I realize you face this great difficulty as well in Ontario) Although MMA competition is legal in BC, it is not allowed by many municipalities such as
Kamloops.  This is truly unfortunate.  Hopefully this will begin to open the
doors for youth and adults alike the opportunity to compete in MMA events in
BC and specifically in Kamloops." Explains Sandy.

When asked if there will be anymore appearances in the works, Sandy tells us "Silva is coming!  At print time - Anderson's management has guaranteed he will be here for us on December 7th.  From 12- 5pm".  This is great news for the fans in the west coast of Canada.  The sport continues to grow and the fans continue to enjoy the excitement it has to offer with events like this.

PHOTOS

Second from top - Devon Ramsden 2002, WKA World Kickboxing Champion (left), Sandy Pembroke 2005 WKA World Kickboxing Champion, Fighting for Canadian title, january 24th in Burlington, Ontario.

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