A few years back — not too long ago, but an eternity in MMA terns — Bellator welterweight Lorenz Larkin said he was done chasing title shots.
That’s the sort of statement you normally hear from fighters past their prime, or who didn’t quite make it to the upper echelon of the sport. Larkin, however, who holds wins over Robbie Lawler, Jorge Masvidal, and Andrey Koreshkov, among others, was still very much in the mix when he made those statements.
Fast forward to 2024, and Lorenz Larkin (26-8, 2NC) finds himself in a title eliminator at Bellator San Diego on September 7. That’s not because he decided to go chasing title shots after all, however. In fact, Larkin told Cageside Press recently, he didn’t learn of the stakes of his fight with Levan Chokheili until after the fight had been announced.
“Man, I don’t want to throw nobody under the bus, but I’mma tell you the honest to God truth how I found out that I was fighting for the number one contendership,” began Larkin. “I went to go train at a buddy of mine’s gym, and after we got done training, he told me ‘hey man congrats, you guys are fighting for the number one [contender’s] spot.”
That was certainly news to Lorenz. “I was like ‘no we’re not, this is a normal fight dude.'”
While his friend swore he’d seen the title eliminator being announced, Larkin told him he was tripping. As it turned out, he wasn’t.
“Later that day, he sent me a picture of the bout, and he highlighted it, and was like ‘I told you.’ I looked, and was like ‘what the hell?’ I called my management, so yeah, that’s how I found out.”
It’s not a bad surprise at the end of the day. When it comes to MMA, there have certainly been worse ones. Perhaps more surprising, however, is that Larkin enters a title eliminator with Chokheli on the final fight of his contract – and no one from the PFL/Bellator side has reached out on that front.
“There hasn’t been an attempt on their side yet. So… I don’t know,” stated Larkin, who would later single out activity as a primary point of concern as he enters the cusp of free agency.
“I would have to be busy, man. I’ve been fighting two times a year for more years than I even want to think about right now. For a good amount of years, I’ve been fighting two times a year, and it’s not been on my part. It’s horrible for me, because I feel like I’m the best when I’m active,” stated Larkin, who would be open to competing in the PFL’s season format. “So we’ll see, but that is a main driving factor in this whole renegotiation with whoever I renegotiate with, is for me to be active. I have to be active. Two times a year, I literally forget I fight sometimes.”
Lorenz Larkin has been here before. In 2016, he was on a two-fight win streak in the UFC, but opted to sign with Bellator MMA, stepping into an immediate title shot in the process. Bellator, now owned by the PFL, is set to hold just eight events in 2024, however. Hardly a recipe for activity.
Of course, there is the allure of the title, but at this point in his career, Larkin, who admits he’s more known to “fight heads” than casuals, questioned what titles mean, especially when they’re not defended.
“I don’t know, to tell you the truth. I just thoroughly enjoy fighting. If it comes with fighting for the title, then great. I think if you win the belt, I think if you keep it for a while then it means something. But I think if you just win the belt and then you lose the belt, to me personally it doesn’t really mean anything,” said Larkin. “I’m not saying I’m going to win the belt then lose the belt, but I’m just saying my outlook on people that have championship belts.”
“I think if you repeatedly defend it then it means something,” he added.
Asked about fighting Levan Chokheli, an up-and-coming Georgian welterweight, Larkin noted that he’s open to fighting all comers, even those that are just getting started. “If you don’t fight them now, what are you going to do? You’re going to fight them later. No, I want these guys right out of the gate. If these guys think they’re hungry, then come on in and we’ll see.”
Watch our full interview with Bellator San Diego welterweight Lorenz Larkin above.
