Bellator 193 touched down in Temecula, CA on Friday night. Airing live on Paramount Network (previously Spike TV), the card was topped by a 180lb catchweight bout between ex-welterweight title challenger Lorenz Larkin, and the tough Fernando Gonzalez.

Larkin was looking to bounce back from a rough start to his Bellator MMA career. After winning his last two UFC bouts against Neil Magny and Jorge Masvidal, Larkin had dropped a title shot to Douglas Lima, and was later finished by Paul Daley. Gonzalez, meanwhile, had won his last two — but again struggled to make weight, coming in just over 180lbs.

The pair got to work early in the main event Friday. Gonzalez went to the body with kicks; Larkin went to the thighs. A straight right by Larkin connected, and he continued to attack the legs. In the final minute of the first, the pair opened up. Fernando Gonzalez pressed forward, swinging. Larkin was briefly forced to retreat, but regrouped, and fired off a few strikes of his own.

Lorenz Larkin opened round two with a leg kick, and the pair circled, looking for an opening. Larkin went upstairs with a kick that was blocked; Gonzalez moved in, but Larkin escaped out of range. Larkin unleashed a few teep kicks throughout the bout, and added another just around the three minute mark. He got his jab firing, but Gonzalez answered back with a heavy punch of his own. The left hand was there for Fernando Gonzalez, but ‘The Menifee Maniac’ was hesitant to pull the trigger.

Gonzalez changed stances fluidly between southpaw and orthodox early in the third. Larkin seemed like he was looking to launch a jumping attack but pulled up. He was, however, slowly starting to pull away. A knee from Larkin connected, though Gonzalez would try to grab it. Larkin then landed a punch to the side of the head. He consistently managed to get around the defenses of his opponent. Another knee for Larkin landed, Gonzalez then went to the body, backing Larkin up. The back and forth battle heated up as they reached the final minute. Fighting right to the bell, Larkin hurt Gonzalez with a left, and a standing elbow followed by a barrage of punches to put a punctuation mark on the affair! In the end, it was Larkin with his hand raised, snapping a two-fight losing streak.

Lorenz Larkin def. Fernando Gonzalez by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

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Lorenz Larkin has had a rough start to his Bellator MMA career. On Friday, he’ll be hoping the third time’s the charm. After going 0-2 to start his tenure with the promotion, Larkin faces Fernando Gonzalez in the main event at Bellator 193. With both fighters from the area, it’s a fight right in Larkin’s back yard — or it would be, if Gonzalez didn’t live even closer to the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, CA.

Gonzalez, who missed weight once again for the 180lb catchweight main event, is on a 2-0 win streak heading into the fight. He’s a tough out for anyone, but Larkin has been in tough spots before. He spoke to Cageside Press ahead of tomorrow’s bout about his recent struggles, and Gonzalez accusing him of playing games at Thursday’s weigh-ins.

The accusation of game playing from his Bellator 193 opponent confused Larkin as much as everybody else. “That’s the thing with these fighters. I don’t understand… you can’t lead the people on a string. You’ve got to explain to these people what you mean” Larkin said. “Because nobody knows your innuendos. I don’t even know what the hell he’s talking about. I came, I’m here, I showed up, I made weight. I don’t what other games I can play. I don’t know. I don’t know just like you don’t know. That’s why I was sitting there like ‘please explain to everybody what the hell you mean.'”

The pair will settle it in the cage Friday, of course, and that’s Larkin’s chance to get things back on track. With so many people questioning his recent performances, he kept his message simple. “Just watch. Imma come and perform” he stated. “That’s all I gotta say. I’m gonna get back where I need to be, I’ve been in bad spots before, and this is no different.”

What is different, perhaps, is his next goal. While many would expect Larkin, still a big fish in Bellator’s welterweight division, to be looking to rebuild and go after new champ Rory MacDonald, Larkin has another target in mind: Paul Daley. Daley defeated him last year at Bellator 183 in September. ‘Da Monsoon’ wants to run it back, however, and says Daley offered him the chance.

“He gave me his word that we could run it back. I’m going to do the right thing to run it back” he said, noting that he just needs a win to get there. “I’m gonna deserve it. I’ll fight one time, get that W, and we can get that rematch. Like he said. If he’s a man of his word, I respect the hell of him.”

The only problem is, Daley is currently at odds with the promotion, and claimed this week that he’d requested for and been granted his release from the company. Bellator officials later denied Daley had been released, but the bottom line is, Daley is unhappy. Much of that stems from the difficulty booking him with Michael ‘Venom’ Page.

In the meantime, it’s Larkin’s show on Friday. After that, time will tell.

Bellator 193 takes place Friday, January 26 in Temecula, CA. The card airs free on the Paramount Network (formerly Spike TV) starting at 9PM.

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Bellator 193’s Fernando Gonzalez has a two-fight win streak built up in Bellator, and is in the main event Friday night in Temecula, CA. ‘The Menifee Maniac’ is fighting right in his own back yard for this one, and will have a sizeable cheering section in the crowd. In a 180lb catchweight bout against Lorenz Larkin, however, he has the toughest bout of his career ahead of him. Questions of weight cuts have dogged him as well, but Gonzalez says he’s made the necessary adjustments to put those questions to rest.

Gonzalez (27–14) has picked up back-to-back wins over Brandon Girtz and Brennan Ward. Speaking to Cageside Press, he discussed weight, title shots and more heading into the main event on Friday.

“I’ve had issues in the past, but like I said, I’m really fairly new to going at this professionally, full time” he explained. “We’ve had to make some adjustments, but I’ve obviously dialed in my body. I’m a lot leaner than I’ve ever been. Even if it’s at 180, you guys will see the difference in my body structure. After that, there should be no doubt that I can make 170.”

Fighting in Temecula, Gonzalez is just “10, 15 minutes” from where he grew up. Larkin is a native of Riverside, CA, about 45 minutes out. “I will definitely have the bigger advantage on how many people are here” he said. Noting that he invited all those who supported him in his early days on the fight scene, he added “I’m here now to show the world who I am.”

With an opponent like Larkin, Fernando Gonzalez will definitely get that chance. A lot of people will be watching to see how Larkin bounces back, after suffering two straight defeats to kick off his Bellator tenure. Larkin made waves when he signed with the promotion over his previous company, the UFC. He exited the UFC on a two fight win streak, with victories over top names in Neil Magny and Jorge Masvidal. His struggles in Bellator have gone a long way to proving that the talent discrepancy between the two promotions isn’t quite what some thought it was.

Still, what matters for Gonzalez is winning the fight, not the narrative. And fighting for the belt — now held by Rory MacDonald, who gutted out a win despite a gnarly leg injury last Saturday.

“I honestly believe I deserve a title shot, but it’s going to be up to them” Gonzalez said of the Bellator title picture. “Whoever they put in front of me, I’m going to knock down anyway. It doesn’t matter who it is. If it’s a title shot, you’re going to see me with a belt around my waist.”

The full press scrum with Bellator 193 headliner Fernando Gonzalez is below.

Fernando Gonzalez takes on Lorenz Larkin in the main event of Bellator 193 this Friday, January 26 in Temecula, California. The card is live and free on the Paramount Network.

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It’s safe to say that Lorenz Larkin’s Bellator career has not gone according to plan. The former UFC standout has dropped two straight fights since joining the Scott Coker-led promotion earlier this year. Now, he’ll look to shake off a rough 2017 with a fresh start next year, as he takes on Fernando Gonzalez atop Bellator 193. The promotion announced the news Tuesday in a press release.

Larkin (18–7 (1)) was on a two-fight win streak when he exited the UFC this past Spring. Since arriving in Bellator, however, he has dropped a title fight to welterweight champ Douglas Lima, and followed that with a knockout loss to Paul Daley. Suddenly struggling with top flight competition, ‘Da Monsoon’ will be looking to right the ship against Fernando Gonzalez.

Gonzalez (27–14), for his part, a former WEC and Strikeforce fighter, will enter Bellator 193 on a two-fight win streak. The ‘Menifee Maniac’ — at one time a WBC National Muay Thai Cruiserweight Champion — picked up wins over Brandon Girtz and Brennan Ward in his last two outings. Larkin, however, will mark one of his toughest challenges to date.

The main event battle will be contested at a catchweight of 180lbs. Additional bouts for the card will be announced at a later date.

Bellator 193 will go down at the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, California on January 26.

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With a touch of the gloves they were off, Ward immediately on the offensive. He’d eat a shot from Gonzalez coming in, but paid it no mind. Gonzalez threw a head kick that was blocked, and moments later Ward had Gonzalez on his back. Ward, working inside a closed guard, sneaked in some short punches to the side of the head while looking to posture up and improve position.

Back on the feet, Gonzalez would find a home for a kick to the body, but seemed wary of Ward’s power. He’d smartly circle out of harm’s way whenever possible, and use the fence to escape when necessary. Gonzalez would land another kick to the leg, but Ward seemed no worse for the wear.

The second round saw Ward pressing forward early. Stacking Gonzalez up against the fence ninety seconds in, he’d look to make something of a key takedown. Gonzalez, however, managed to explode back up, and they’d reset in the center of the cage. A high kick from Gonzalez whiffed; Ward would work his way forward with his jab and combos. With under a minute to go in round two, Ward would secure another key takedown, eating precious seconds off the clock while Gonzalez struggled to wall walk back up.

With Ward likely up two rounds, the third opened with Gonzalez in need of a finish. Ward would quickly find himself caught in a guillotine as Gonzalez pulled guard as he shot in, and just moments later, Gonzalez had the tap! What a comeback.

Fernando Gonzalez def. Brennan Ward by submission (guillotine choke), Round 3, 1:02

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Koreshkov (19–2) is a former welterweight champion, and has not been in action since losing the title to Douglas Lima at Bellator 164 last November. Prior to that, he had successfully defended the title (which was vacant when he won it at Bellator 140 in a bout also against Lima) against Benson Henderson at Bellator 153. Winner of the Bellator Season 10 welterweight tournament, Koreshkov has been a staple of the promotion since 2012. His only career losses have come to Lima, and former Bellator/current ONE Championship welterweight king Ben Askren.

Chidi Njokuani (17–4 (1)), meanwhile, is undefeated under the Bellator banner and has not lost a fight since 2013. He’s coming off a unanimous decision win against Melvin Guillard at Bellator 171 in January.

The winner of Koreshkov vs. Njokuani should position themselves for a run at the title, though Rory MacDonald is all but a lock for the next shot.

Brennan Ward (14–5), meanwhile, returns to action after suffering a devastating flying knee knockout at the hands of Paul Daley at Bellator 170. He’ll be looking to regain momentum after being on the wrong side of what could very well turn out to be the Knockout of the Year. Ward is set to meet Fernando Gonzalez (26–14), who will enter the night coming off a unanimous decision win against Brandon Girtz.

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