TOKYO – Lorenz Larkin believes a win at Bellator 237 will secure him a second opportunity to capture welterweight gold.
Larkin (21-7 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) has already been touted by Bellator president Scott Coker as the next title contender for champ Douglas Lima if he can defeat Keita Nakamura (35-10-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) on Saturday’s card (Sunday locally), which takes place at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN.
Lima (32-7 MMA, 14-3 BMMA) already derailed Larkin’s title hopes once before, spoiling his promotional debut with a successful title defense at Bellator NYC in June 2017. “The Monsoon” has rebuilt himself since, though, and after beating ex-champ Andrey Koreshkov at Bellator 229 in October for this third straight win, he believes he’s on the doorstep of another shot.
“If everything goes good, Scott was already saying that I was the No. 1 contender and that I’m in line for the title shot,” Larkin told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at Bellator 237 media day. “(I need to) get past this fight, but that’s the plan: Get that title fight rematch.”
Although rematching Lima for the title would be a massive moment in Larkin’s career, he said he’s not getting ahead of himself. Nakamura may have 10 career losses, but he’s no easy out, either. The Japanese fighter came off an eight-fight UFC stint earlier this year and was never finished inside the octagon.
Larkin praised Nakamura for his durability and expects a tough fight, but he said he plans to rise to the occasion. It’s been a longstanding dream of Larkin’s to fight in Japan, and after pleading the Bellator brass for a spot on the Bellator 237 card, he said he intends to make the most of it.
“I was harassing Scott about this fight,” Larkin said. “I couldn’t miss this.”
To hear more from Larkin, check out the video above.
