Welterweight Larkin (27-8, 2NC) scored a knockout finish of the Georgian inside of a round at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego on Saturday, with Cageside Press and other media outlets in attendance. The 38-year old veteran, a former UFC and Strikeforce standout, has fought for gold before, landing in a title shot in his Bellator debut in 2017 after signing as a free agent.

Before he gets to his next shot at gold, however, he’ll have to come to terms on a new contract with the promotion, now owned by the PFL. Larkin fought out his current deal in Saturday’s win.

“I know eventually we’re going to sit down with Bellator and the PFL and talk business. Hopefully we come to some type of agreement,” Larkin said following the fight, noting that he plans to take a bit of time off, including some time on his boat. “I like the promotion, obviously, I’ve been here for years, and I feel like we have a good relationship. So this is just something that when it comes down to business, we just have to sit down and talk, talk it out, see and go from there.”

As for the success he’s found at age 38, when many fighters find themselves in decline, Larkin explained that “I look at it like, I’ve seen so many fighters that have done really, really good and as they’ve got older they’re just totally different, totally different fighters. And I’m just blessed to to be improving. Every fight, I’m improving. I’m getting older but I’m still fast out there, my reactions are still good and I’m still putting on great shows and great performances. I just feel good, man.”

Watch the full Bellator San Diego post-fight press scrum above.

The post Lorenz Larkin Notes Good Relationship with Bellator/PFL, Hopes to Come to Agreement on New Deal appeared first on Cageside Press.

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.

The post Lorenz Larkin Learned of Bellator Title Eliminator From Friend, PFL Has Yet to Reach Out on Contract appeared first on Cageside Press.

The cross-promotion with RIZIN Fighting Federation came with a second half, Super RIZIN 2, that would air (via Fite.tv) after the Bellator portion of the show on Showtime in the U.S. And while the promotion versus promotion format was gone for the most part, due to a staph infection endured by A.J. McKee, RIZIN’s Roberto de Souza stepped into the main event and million dollar grand prix against Patricky Pitbull.

In the co-main event, meanwhile, Kyoji Horiguchi finally had a chance to claim a major title at flyweight. Once a two-promotion champ at bantamweight in both Bellator and RIZIN, Japan’s Horiguchi would face Makoto Shinryu for the inaugural Bellator MMA flyweight championship on Saturday at the Saitama Super Arena.

The former UFC title challenger has long been considered one of the best lighter fighters on the planet, and the chance for a third major title underscored that.

Bellator x RIZIN 2 kicks off at 11PM ET on Showtime — full results can be found below!

Bellator x RIZIN 2: Pitbull vs. De Souza Results

Lightweight: Patricky Pitbull def. Roberto De Souza by TKO (leg kick and strikes), Round 3, 0:49 — Lightweight World Grand Prix Quarterfinal
Flyweight: Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Makoto “Shinryu” ends in a No Contest (accidental eye poke), Round 1, 0:25 — for the Inaugural Flyweight World Championship:
Flyweight: Kana Watanabe def. Veta Arteaga by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Bantamweight: Magomed Magomedov def. Danny Sabatello by submission (guillotine choke), Round 1, 3:55
Welterweight: Andrey Koreshkov def. Lorenz Larkin by split decision (29-28, 28-28, 29-28)

The post Bellator x RIZIN 2: Pitbull vs. De Souza Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

Larkin (25-7, 2NC) returned to the welterweight division a couple of fights ago, after a successful stint at middleweight. Despite that success, however, Larkin told Cageside Press in a recent interview that “It’s going to be welterweight from here on out. I mean don’t get me wrong, if there’s something exciting that pops up, I’m open to it. I am a company man. But the big thing for me is, just keep me busy. I don’t really think about the opponents or nothing like that, it’s just more so, can you guys keep me busy?”

The impetus for going back to welterweight, said Larkin, who has previously admitted that he likes to eat, is staying active. “If I’m not active, then I’m eating up every f*cking thing. I need to be active, I need to have some type of substance where I’m like, I’m training because they’re going to keep me active. But if I’m just one, two fights a year, it’s hard. It’s doable, I’ve done it for x amount of years, but it gets too lax. I’m a better fighter, and I would think the promotion would want me to be a better fighter, would want me to keep active.”

Larkin isn’t one of those older fighters that likes just a couple of fights a year. “Keep me busy. If you can give me three fights a year, give me three fights a year. That’s perfectly fine with me.”

At Bellator x RIZIN, Larkin is set for a rematch with Andrey Koreshkov, who he defeated back in 2019. Given the victory, and his seven-fight win streak, Larkin admitted that he was a bit taken aback with the name being offered.

“Yeah, to tell you the truth, but it’s like hey, whatever. They probably knew from the get go, they told me that name, and then they told me Japan. I was like ‘ooh you guys know how to approach me with bad and good news.” A carrot and stick approach, if you will. “The Japan part was a big f*cking carrot,” admitted Larkin.

Paired up against his old foe, Larkin doesn’t see a fighter who has grown much in recent years. Especially given half his fights have come outside of Bellator. “I think one of the fights, he fought a guy who was like a 55’er who came up to 70,” noted Larkin. “I don’t count that.”

“Imagine if Bellator let me fight outside of Bellator in a regional show. I’d have like 18 wins under my belt. Bellator is a big league, and anything outside of that, unless it’s another big league, to be it doesn’t count. So the two fights in Bellator, I don’t know. He hasn’t changed that much to me,” Larkin added.

Then there’s the mystery of how a fighter he has beaten, who has part-timed it in Bellator, is ranked ahead of him. Though Larkin is past worrying about rankings or title fights.

“I don’t know. Like I keep saying, I’m not focused on the title fight. I just want to keep fighting, and I’ll just let that speak for itself. Since his fight, he’s fought two times outside of Bellator, two times in Bellator. I’ve fought five times in Bellator since beating him, and I’m number nine and he’s number five… I mean, I don’t even know how that comes up,” Larkin exclaimed. “I don’t think about the rankings, I don’t think about none of that sh*t. Give me the fight. Give me the fight so I can sign the contract and then get to camp. And that’s pretty much what I’ve been focused on. Keep giving me these fights, and I’m going to keep going, keep going, keep going.”

Watch our full interview with Bellator x RIZIN welterweight Lorenz Larkin above.

The post Lorenz Larkin Questioned Koreshkov Rematch, but Fighting in Japan Sold Him On It appeared first on Cageside Press.

On Wednesday, Bellator officials announced via press release the addition of two more key match-ups to Bellator X RIZIN on July 30, 2023.

In the first, former welterweight champion Andrey Koreshkov will face off against UFC vet and current Bellator standout Lorenz Larkin. In bantamweight action, meanwhile, a pair of grand prix alums will face off, as one-time title challenger Danny Sabatello meets Magomed Magomedov.

Sabatello (14-2) recently returned to the win column, defeating Marcos Breno by submission this past April to bounce back from his interim title fight loss against Raufeon Stots. That fight was additionally a semi-final in the Bellator Bantamweight Grand Prix, which Patchy Mix would go on to win.

Magomedov (19-2) is 3-2 in Bellator, but coming off a loss against Mix in the other grand prix semi-final.

Koreshkov (26-4) has not competed for the company since February of 2022, and took his last fight outside of the promotion, beating Leonardo Cavalheiro last June in Omsk, Russia. Overall, the former champ has won his past four fights, while Larkin has won seven straight outside of a no contest due to an illegal elbow in his first fight with Mukhamed Berkhamov.

Larkin took just over a minute and a half to knock Berkhamov out in the pair’s rematch this past February.

Bellator X RIZIN is set to take place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, just outside Tokyo. Unlike December’s Bellator MMA vs. RIZIN card, the promotions are not going head-to-head this time out.

The following bouts have been announced for the event so far:

• Patricky Pitbull vs. AJ McKee — Lightweight World Grand Prix Quarterfinal
• Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Makoto “Shinryu”
• Danny Sabatello vs. Magomed Magomedov
• Kana Watanabe vs. Veta Arteaga
• Andrey Koreshkov vs. Lorenz Larkin

The post Bellator X RIZIN Adds Sabatello vs. Magomedov, Koreshkov vs. Larkin appeared first on Cageside Press.

The two first fought at Bellator 283 last July where the fight was declared a no-contest following an unintentional, but illegal elbow to the back of the head by Larkin. Berkhamov was unable to continue and the bout was called.

“It’s just another feather in the cap you know. For me it was more so like redemption from what happened last time, and from a lot of people thinking that this fight was going to go the whole other way,” Larkin told Cageside Press among other media.

“I just felt like he had nothing for me. For this fight to happen like that, this was no luck. This is like, I wish there was f*cking cameras in the back of me warming up, these are the things that I work on.”

Redemption following the no-contest from Bellator 283 turned into a highlight reel knockout at Bellator 290.

Even 𝘾𝙍𝘼𝙕𝙄𝙀𝙍 in slow-motion. What a KO by @da_MONSOON!

💻 @MonsterEnergy Prelims fueled by @NorthgateGlzMrk | Bellator YouTube

📺 #Bellator290 | 𝑪𝑩𝑺 & 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕+ | 9pm ET / 6pm PT pic.twitter.com/h3fAauR4Ge

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) February 5, 2023

“Im more happy in this moment just to show off the hard work that me and my team’s been putting in.”

With no real injuries to nurse Larkin has set his sights on the next Bellator event he wants to fight at.

“Pechanga! Why am I not on Pechanga? That’s my backyard. Every time I’ve fought there it’s been a crazy packed house. I only got a seven-day suspension. Pretty sure my team would love to get back in the gym so. Pechanga,” Larkin said,

Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, CA is the setting for Bellator 293 on March 31. As far as having an opponent in mind Larkin did not have a preference.

“Nope. I never have a name in mind. My thing is Bellator calls me, they give me a name, I text back or say yes. That’s the end of it,” Larkin said.

“I don’t need to call nobody out. I’ve fought the best of the best. I’m not scared of nobody. I just take the fights. I don’t need to do all the sh*t talking, all the call outs, at the end of the day I just put my f*cking head down. I grind it out and I keep showing up. That’s all I do. Lace these f*cking boots and go to work.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Lorenz Larkin above.

The post Bellator 290: Lorenz Larkin Gets Redemption, Wants On Bellator 293 appeared first on Cageside Press.

The incident occurred midway through the opening round, and brought a halt to a fight Larkin was feeling good about.

Following the bout, Larkin (24-7, 2NC) addressed the blow, and admitted that he was “pissed off” about the outcome.

“At first I didn’t know if I hit him with a bad elbow, then I seen the replay, I was like ‘okay,'” Larkin recalled, speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press. “But I was like, it wasn’t as hard as I wanted it to be. I knew I hit him with it, but it wasn’t what I thought [it had to be] to be stopped.”

Larkin went through the entire gamut of emotions following the bout. “I was more disappointed in myself, because I wasn’t even breathing hard. I wasn’t even tired. The wrestling, I was all for it. Even when I felt him on top, I was like, ‘I’m going to keep making you work.’ That’s what I was so pissed off about, because I felt good. I wasn’t even in the slightest bit breathing hard.”

“Then I got super pissed at him, because when we went back to the doctor’s room, it wasn’t even his head,” he continued. “It wasn’t even his head that was hurt. It’s his knee.”

Larkin overheard the conversation between Berkhamov and the doctor, which led to him questioning why the fight was called. “I’m trying to sit here and be respectful, but I was just sitting next to him, and it wasn’t even his head that’s hurting. He just said ‘oh it’s a little bit,’ but it’s his knee. Left knee.”

“Yes it sucks that I did an elbow like that, which I recognize and I am sorry for him for that, but he had nothing for me. Yes he got the takedown, but on top of me, I was like ‘I’m going to keep making this motherf*cker work, because I’m not tired,’ and I wasn’t even— I’m telling you guys, I wish that fight could have kept going, man.”

In all his training over the past week, Larkin added that his coach was way harder to grapple with than Berkhamov was during the fight. “That’s why I was so pissed off, man. I never cry. Coach, have you ever seen me f*cking cry in my life? I never cry. I just didn’t know what to do. I trained so hard, I felt so good, I felt like I could have done 15 rounds.”

Watch the full Bellator 283 post-fight press conference appearance by Lorenz Larkin above. More coverage from the event can be found below.

The post Lorenz Larkin “Pissed Off” Over Early Ending, No Contest at Bellator 283 appeared first on Cageside Press.

After a two-fight stint at middleweight, Larkin (24-7, 1NC) stated at Bellator Paris back in May that he’d be returning to the 170 pound division. For him, it’s all about the right fights. 170 is his home, but he’s not against returning to 185.

“When I got signed with Bellator, I told them that I don’t mind fighting at both weights. But to me, there is a point, right? There are some big 85’ers out there, and I’m not too keen about that,” Larkin said during Wednesday’s Bellator 283 media day. “If it’s a fight, fan-friendly fight where the fans are super-excited for me versus a guy at 85 that makes sense, then I’m down for it. My main priority is 70, but I’m not scared to make the jump and do an exciting fight at 85.”

Larkin freely admits that “food is my kryptonite,” but ahead of his fight against Mukhamed Berkhamov, and physically is actually feeling better than ever.

“Now I got a six pack, so sh*t, I haven’t had that in a while. I feel good, man. My body feels really good,” Larkin exclaimed. “This is probably the best my body has looked at 70, I mean the way I feel.”

Elaborating on what has him feeling so good physically, Larkin pointed the finger at his schedule.

“I think the biggest thing with me, and probably my coaches can agree with, is fights back-to-back. Whenever you give me a break in between fights, bad sh*t happens,” he explained. “This was an early turnaround, and I was able to just keep training, my coaches were able to be on my ass.”

Over the course of the past seven or eight years, Larkin continued, he’s usually fought just twice a year. “And it’s always been the beginning of the year, and the end of the year. And between that year, I got all these parties, and home get togethers, and barbecues, and f*cking Thanksgiving that I had to deal with. Being the fight is back-to-back, it’s easier on me.”

Watch the full Bellator 283 media day appearance from Lorenz Larkin above. Larkin faces Mukhamed Berkhamov on Friday, July 22, 2022 in Tacoma, Washington.

The post Bellator 283: Lorenz Larkin Explains Move Back to 170, And Why His Body Feels Better Than Ever appeared first on Cageside Press.

With the event quickly approaching, a number of key match-ups have now been announced for the card. On Tuesday, Bellator officials confirmed via press release that a main card welterweight bout between Lorenz Larkin (24-7) and Mukhamed Berkhamov (15-1) had been added to the event, in a fight that will see Larkin return to 170 pounds after a stint at middleweight.

MMA Junkie previously reported the booking.

In addition to Larkin vs. Berkhamov, a heavyweight scrap featuring undefeated prospect Davion Franklin (5-0) taking on UFC vet Marcelo Golm (9-3) has been added to the card. The fight will almost certainly be Franklin’s toughest test to date. Golm, who made his promotional debut last year, will be looking for his second straight win in the Bellator cage, and fourth overall.

Golm posted a 1-3 record in the UFC from 2017 to 2019.

Among the other additions to the July card are familiar names including Jaylon Bates and Kai Kamaka III. Bellator 283 is headlined by a lightweight title fight between champ Patricky Pitbull and challenger Sidney Outlaw. The card as announced by the promotion breaks down as follows:

• Patricky Freire (c) vs. Sidney Outlaw – for the Bellator MMA lightweight championship
• Douglas Lima vs. Jason Jackson
• Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Chris Gonzalez
• Lorenz Larkin vs. Mukhamed Berkhamov
• Davion Franklin vs. Marcelo Golm
• Viktor Nemkov vs. Jose Augusto
• Adam Piccolotti vs. Tofiq Musayev
• Romero Cotton vs. Dalton Rosta
• Veta Arteaga vs. Vanessa Porto
• Gadzhi Rabadanov vs. Bobby King
• Jaylon Bates vs. Mark Coates
• Roman Faraldo vs. Luis Iniguez
• Vladimir Tokov vs. Justin Montalvo
• Ethan Hughes vs. Kevin Hand
• Kai Kamaka III vs. Akhmed Magomedov

Bellator 283 takes place at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Washington on July 22, 2022, with the main card airing on Showtime in the U.S. following online prelims.

The post Larkin vs. Berkhamov, Franklin vs. Golm Among Bellator 283 Additions appeared first on Cageside Press.

Ahead of Bellator 280 on Friday, Larkin (24-7, 1NC) took issue with his #6 spot in the middleweight division, noting that he’d only fought in the weight class once — against a fighter no longer with the company.

After defeating former UFC fighter Kyle Stewart in Paris, via a first-round TKO, Larkin joked that they’d probably have him ranked #4 now, despite just having fought his second fight in Bellator’s 185 pound weight class. As for climbing the ladder? He could care less.

“I don’t care about that ladder, man. That ladder means nothing to me,” Larkin told Cageside Press following his win at the AccorHotels Arena. “I think number seven, eight, nine and ten, should be pissed off. I need to look at who they are, but the middleweight division, you guys should be pissed off. Because I’ve got no business being in front of you guys,” said Larkin.

Lucky for the rest of the weight class, Larkin doesn’t plan to stick around. “I’m going back to 70. I know I said this, this is deja vu, I said this last fight. I’m ready to get right back in there. I’m not hurt, I’m 100%, I’m ready to get another fight, and make my way back to welterweight.”

As for a shot at the champ at 185, Gegard Mousasi, Larkin will pass. “Gegard, I don’t want sh*t to do with Gegard.”

Earlier, Larkin explained that his fight against Stewart was potentially the most dangerous kind there was: against a fighter with nothing to lose. That was the case with Stewart, who had stepped into the bout on short notice.

“This is the most dangerous type of fighter. When somebody has nothing to lose and everything to gain, that is the most dangerous fighter. Because there are no regrets. As long as you just go in there and fight your ass off, there’s no losing about it. For me, it’s the worst type of fight to fight. But I’m not going to pull out of a fight because my opponent pulled out of a fight. This is my second fight like this. Like I keep saying, as long as I have a great camp, it doesn’t matter who it is.”

Watch the full Bellator 280 post-fight press conference with Lorenz Larkin above. More coverage from the event can be found below.

The post Bellator 280’s Lorenz Larkin Plans Welterweight Return: “I Don’t Want Sh*t to Do With Gegard” appeared first on Cageside Press.