UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Lorenz Larkin didn’t fully enjoy himself fighting at 185 pounds.
The welterweight got the job done at middleweight at Bellator 258 this past Friday, but it’s not something he’ll be looking to repeat. Larkin (23-7 MMA, 5-2 BMMA) defeated former middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho by split decision on the preliminary card.
Larkin was happy to get the victory, but he plans to go right back down to 170 pounds.
“I’m going back down – I don’t give a sh*t,” Larkin told reporters at the Bellator 258 post-fight news conference. “I’m going to keep it real. I’m going back down. I mean, he’s 6-(foot)-3. I don’t know what he came in at and I’m 5-(foot)-11 with short reach, and he’s got long reach. We’re the total opposite, so this is it.”
Although Larkin didn’t fully enjoy the experience of fighting at middleweight in Bellator, he was happy to have accepted the fight. Larkin was originally scheduled to fight Costello van Steenis, but injury took him out of the bout. That gave Carvalho the opportunity to step in on short notice. Larkin thinks many wouldn’t have accepted the bout.
“Being a fighter, and at this point of my career, most guys wouldn’t have taken that fight,” Larkin said. “It’s not like this guy was coming off the couch to take this fight. He was already getting ready for a fight and it fell through in LFA, I believe. So he was already in camp.
“So being a smart fighter that’s really worried bout getting a win and moving on this wouldn’t have been a smart fight to take. I don’t give a sh*t, most guys would pass that guy up, take a no name, get the win, and move forward. But it is what it is. I took the fight, I got the win, and now I get to move forward. So it was fun for me. It was a hard fight, but I pushed through and came up with the win.”
