Bellator MMA’s Lorenz Larkin Believes His Home Is at Welterweight

Having plied his trade all over the world across multiple weight classes as high as light heavyweight, Lorenz Larkin is setting his sights on the Bellator MMA 170-pound division. After securing a quick victory over Kyle Stewart at Bellator 280 in May, Larkin (24-7, 1 NC; 6-2 Bellator) is ready for a quick turnaround as he faces Mukhamed Berkhamov at the upcoming Bellator 283 on July 22. “The Monsoon” will be returning to the welterweight division for the first time in five years. The last time he competed at 170 pounds, Larkin piled up back-to-back defeats. Now, the Ultimate Fighting Championship alum feels things have changed, and he’s ready to prove that welterweight is his best weight category. At the same time, the Millennia MMA export doesn’t close any doors on a return to middleweight, especially if the right matchup arises.

“When I first came over to Bellator, I said that I was interested… like, I didn't wanna be that fighter that just stays at a weight class,” Larkin told Sherdog. “I'm open to exciting fights at 185 if they come, but I don't wanna stay at 185. I think it gets to a certain extent to where the guys get really big, you know? And I feel like I'm a big 170-pounder, but I'm not a big 185er. If the fights are exciting, I'm down to make [it] if it's like a fan-friendly type of fight where the fans would like to see this fight and this fight at 185, and it's exciting for me then, yeah, I'm down to make fights like that happen. But my weight class is 170.”

(00:00) Intro
(00:24) Doing the interview while undergoing a therapeutic massage
(00:59) Competing at Bellator Paris
(02:02) Whether the multiple opponent changes affected his game plan
(02:44) Defeating Stewart
(04:38) Enjoying his journey to Paris
(05:56) Hoping to compete in Italy
(06:18) Aiming to fight more frequently
(07:27) Preparing for Berkhamov
(08:54) Moving down to welterweight
(09:56) How far he believes he is from another title shot, and why he hasn't gotten it yet
(11:55) Picking Douglas Lima vs. Jason Jackson
(12:50) Predicting his fight
(13:55) Walking out to ‘Bringing the Thunder’
(14:40) Outro