Inactivity may have shifted
Lorenz
Larkin to the back burner, but his track record makes him more
than just another cog in the
Bellator
MMA wheel.
“The Monsoon” will return to the stage for the first time in nearly
a year when he toes the line against
Kyle
Stewart in a
Bellator 280 middleweight feature on Friday at Accor Arena in
Paris. Larkin, now 35 years of age, enters the cage on the strength
of a five-fight winning streak. He last competed at Bellator 258,
where he was awarded a split decision over former middleweight
champion
Rafael
Carvalho in their contentious May 7 confrontation.
As Larkin moves ever closer to his clash with Stewart, a look at
some of the rivalries that have helped shape his career to this
point:
Larkin posted the most significant win of his career when he took a
unanimous decision from the former
EliteXC
champion in their Strikeforce “Rockhold vs. Kennedy” middleweight
showcase on July 14, 2012 at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon.
All three cageside judges scored it 30-27. Lawler landed a short
right hand to the temple and had the Californian reeling in the
first round, but his follow-up barrage did not net him the desired
finish. Larkin recovered, bounced back later in the period and did
some exquisite work in close quarters with knees, punches and
elbows. For much of the rest of the bout, Lawler’s big guns
remained holstered. Larkin stepped up his attack with some more
multi-faceted striking, as he cut his opponent on the top of the
head with a grazing kick in the second round. Blood streamed down
Lawler’s face. Nothing changed down the stretch, and Larkin put an
exclamation point on the victory with three vicious standing elbows
late in Round 3.
Takedowns, ground-and-pound and an oppressive top game carried the
North Carolinian to a unanimous decision over Larkin in their UFC
177 middleweight prelim on Aug. 30, 2014 at Sleep Train Arena in
Sacramento, California. Brunson swept the scorecards with 30-27
marks across the board. Larkin enjoyed success in the standup—he
was particularly effective with his kicks to the body—but did not
remain upright long enough to accumulate damage. A three-time
All-American wrestler for the University of North Carolina at
Pembroke, Brunson grounded the California-based kickboxer in all
three rounds, sliced through his guard and piled up points with
short punches, hammerfists and elbows. He spent much of the
15-minute encounter imposing his will on “The Monsoon.” It was
Larkin’s third straight loss, forced him to re-evaluate his
position and led to his move to 170 pounds.
Larkin put away the
American Top Team standout with punches in the second round of
their UFC Fight Night 70 co-main event on June 27, 2015 at the
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
Ponzinibbio bowed out 3:07 into Round 2. Combinations flowed out of
Larkin from the start, the Californian pairing multi-punch blitzes
with stinging leg kicks. Ponzinibbio never stopped moving forward,
even with his mobility compromised. However, the Argentine marched
himself right into danger. Larkin cut down “The Ultimate Fighter
Brazil” Season 2 semifinalist with a left hook-right cross-left
hook combination in the second round and swarmed with vicious
ground-and-pound. He continued his assault while Ponzinibbio tried
valiantly to return to his feet, and one final left hook to the
face forced referee
Herb Dean to
intervene.
The Atlanta-based Brazilian withstood a stern challenge and
retained the undisputed Bellator MMA welterweight championship with
a five-round unanimous decision over Larkin in their Bellator 180
co-feature on June 24, 2017 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Scores were 50-45, 48-47 and 48-47. Lima was slightly busier and
landed the more decisive strikes, nearly finishing it in the second
round with a clean left hook and follow-up ground-and-pound. Larkin
held his own in his pressure-packed promotional debut and managed
to strike well in spurts. However, he never could get over the hump
against Lima and ultimately failed to forge the finish he needed in
the championship rounds. It remains one of only two
defeats—
Paul
Daley was responsible for the other some three months later—for
Larkin under the Bellator banner.
Larkin took a major step forward in the Bellator MMA organization
when he eked out a split decision over the former welterweight
champion in the Bellator 229 headliner on Oct. 4, 2019 at the
Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California. All three
judges scored it 29-28: Ron McCarthy for Korsehkov, Michael Bell
and Luis Cobain for Larkin. Koreshkov had his chances. He floored
Larkin with wheel kick in the first round, but the
Strikeforce
and
Ultimate Fighting Championship vet managed to survive the
onslaught that followed, owing to his stout chin and high-level
experience. Round 2 was a different story. Larkin pushed the
Russian backward and uncorked a flying knee that altered the
direction of the fight. Koreshkov hit the deck, and though he
regained his footing, he was knocked down a second time with
another knee strike. Larkin poured on the punishment with
elbow-laced ground-and-pound in a bid to finish, but referee Mike
Beltran kept his finger off the button. The third round was largely
uneventful outside of an attempted guillotine from Larkin.
Koreshkov escaped the choke, but his desire to wrestle and an
unwillingness to exchange caution for aggression proved costly when
the verdict was read.