FOX Sports suspends analyst Kenny Florian following plagiarism issue

Kenny Florian

FOX Sports has suspended former UFC fighter and current analyst Kenny Florian following his recent apology for plagiarism.

Officials today announced the suspension via Twitter. It’s effective immediately, though a term wasn’t disclosed.

Earlier this week, Florian, who serves as a color commentator for UFC events and hosts FOX Sports 1’s weekly “UFC Tonight” news program, issued an apology shortly after publishing a breakdown of this weekend’s UFC Fight Night 81 event for FOXSports.com.

Boxing analyst Lee Wylie of TheFightCity.com noticed some striking similarities between Florian’s column and his own work, including word-for-word passages from one of his own videos (via Twitter).

The following morning, Florian apologized to Wylie after a number of critical tweets were sent the UFC vet’s way, and a disclaimer was added to the story (via Twitter):

Wylie accepted his apology and remained rather professional about the situation (via Twitter)

Florian, who hails from Massachusetts, was slated to work for FOX Sports for this weekend’s UFC Fight Night 81 event, which takes place Sunday and airs on FOX Sports 1 from Boston’s TD Garden.

For more on UFC Fight Night 81, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.