In this ESPN.com blog, UFC contender Kenny Florian, who challenges champion Jose Aldo for the UFC featherweight championship at UFC 136, discusses evolving with the game, loving what he does and how he hasn’t lost the desire to train.

Montreal -- In order to become a UFC world champion, it's important to think, train and prepare like one. My shot at the featherweight title arrives against champion Jose Aldo on Oct. 8 at UFC 136 (PPV), and I have visualized, on a near daily basis, walking out of that Octagon with the belt wrapped around my waist.

With less than two weeks to go now, I have pretty much finished an intense training camp and am slowing down, ready to peak at the right time. I really don't believe in training camps -- I train all year round -- but I did up the intensity, of course, ahead of this title fight. I've just finished a month of training three times a day, six times a week, so it's fair to say my body is in optimum condition right now.

The amount of work I put in to each training camp has grown and grown and I'm always intent on outdoing my opponent. The key is to know that you are doing more and pushing harder than your opponent throughout the training camp. While you can never be sure exactly how well your opponent is training, I train hard enough to know that I've likely got the upper hand.

I'm always training hard and often, but I also do it with an intelligence that has developed over the many years that I have been involved in this sport as a fighter, trainer, coach, cornerman, commentator and even ESPN analysts. I've done good things and bad things in the past, but have learned from the mistakes and found an ideal place as far as training goes. At 35 years of age, I feel as though I've now cracked it, although I'm also aware that I will never stop learning.

This is the best training camp I've ever had as a professional fighter and it's not even close. I'm ready to rock and itching to compete. I get up every single day and pinch myself knowing that I get to do what I love to do on a daily basis. That is a very rare thing in this day and age and I consider it a true blessing. I absolutely love what I do and I love learning. I believe that life is all about learning, and there is no better sport to learn about than mixed martial arts right now. This sport is constantly changing, updating and evolving and it is incredibly exciting to be a part of it in 2011.

I'm the kind of guy that detests monotony and, thankfully, every day as a mixed martial artist is different, fresh and challenging. There is always something new to learn or practice. My goal every single day is to get a little bit better than I was yesterday. That is what keeps me motivated, above and beyond titles, rankings and all that other stuff. I simply want to feel like I am improving on a daily basis. There is no better feeling than going to the gym each day and performing better than you did the day before.

I still love training 100 percent and it still makes me happy, even though I've been doing it for so long now. I started this sport back in 2002, but I don't believe it will ever feel like a chore to get out of bed and train. I find it very easy to push myself in the pursuit of improvement and if the day eventually comes when I'm unable to push myself further, I know my coaches will be more than happy to do all the pushing for me. I don't believe in reaching limits or plateauing out as a fighter. There are always new limits to be reached in a sport like this, and it is my job as a fighter to aspire to reach them each and every time I step through the doors to our gym.

Ultimately, the end goal for all fighters is to lift that UFC belt. That is the thing that drives us in training and forces us to become the best fighter we can possibly be. I know that in order to survive and thrive in this sport in 2011, I need to be a much better fighter than I was in 2010 and when I was first competing on “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 1. The sport has progressed at a breakneck speed since those days, and if you don't manage to keep up with the progression, you'll only get left behind. It is this need to keep moving and improving that pushes me to new heights each time I prepare my mind and body for a gym session.

Once you reach a certain level of competition, the opponents only get tougher and tougher, and it's important to move with the times and stay one step ahead of the field. Jose Aldo is 24 years of age and is already considered one of the top three pound-for-pound talents in the world. With that in mind, I know that I need to be fitter, faster, sharper and better than I have ever been before on Oct. 8. And that is exactly what I have been working towards for the past few months and years.

Visit kennyflorian.com/ and @kennyflorian for more information on Kenny "KenFlo" Florian, top featherweight contender and former two-time lightweight title challenger