Lorenz Larkin (born September 3, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the Welterweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2009, Larkin formerly competed for Strikeforce and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Background
Larkin was born and raised in Riverside, California as one of nine siblings. Larkin began training in
boxing at a young age and also played football, but soon gave it up because he did not excel at it or other team sports. He attended Riverside Polytechnic High School.
Afterwards, he continued boxing but was not able to compete as much as he would like to, due to his father's objections. Larkin also felt that he was too short to be a professional boxer in the
heavyweight division, so he took up
kickboxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu which led him to mixed martial arts. Prior to his career in mixed martial arts, Larkin also trained in
Kung Fu. In an interview, Larkin stated he enjoyed the martial arts movies that were popular around the time he was growing up and wanted to be a Kung Fu fighter.
[ Monsoon Season]
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Larkin holds records of 5–0 and 10–0 in amateur boxing and amateur mixed martial arts, respectively, with one of those wins coming against UFC Heavyweight Walt Harris. Making his professional MMA debut in August 2009, he compiled an undefeated record of 12–0.
Strikeforce
Larkin made his debut in the Strikeforce promotion on April 1, 2011, against kickboxer
Scott Lighty at , replacing
Satoshi Ishii on a week's notice.
[ Lorenz Larkin replaces Satoshi Ishii at Strikeforce Challengers 15 ] Larkin won the fight via technical knockout in the second round and earned praise for his impressive performance against a veteran fighter, while being largely unheard of himself.
[ Lorenz Larkin Shines At Strikeforce Challengers 15]
Larkin returned to the promotion in June 2011. He faced Gian Villante and won the fight via unanimous decision. Villante controlled the first round from top position but Larkin turned it around in the second round by keeping the fight on the feet and landing many strong kicks to the legs of his opponent. Larkin kept this up in the third round while also scoring an unexpected takedown in the last ten seconds.
Larkin was originally scheduled to headline the next challengers event against Virgil Zwicker but Zwicker pulled out due to an injury.
Larkin next faced Muhammed Lawal at . He lost the fight via KO in the second round, the first loss of his professional career. However, the result was overturned and changed to a No Contest after Lawal tested positive for steroids (Drostanolone).
For his next fight, Larkin dropped down to Middleweight division. He faced heavy-handed future UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler on July 14, 2012, at .
Larkin was to challenge Luke Rockhold for the championship on November 3, 2012, at . The event was to be held at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,
Ultimate Fighting Championship
In January 2013, the Strikeforce organization was closed by its parent company Zuffa. A list of fighters scheduled to be brought over to the Ultimate Fighting Championship was released in mid-January and Larkin was one of the fighters listed.
On February 9, 2013, the UFC announced that Larkin would make his debut against Francis Carmont at in San Jose, California.
For his second UFC appearance, Larkin faced Chris Camozzi on November 6, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 31.
Larkin faced Brad Tavares on January 15, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 35. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Larkin faced Costas Philippou at UFC Fight Night 40.
Larkin was expected to face Derek Brunson at UFC 176.
For his next fight, Larkin moved down to the welterweight division. He faced John Howard on January 18, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 59.
Larkin faced Santiago Ponzinibbio on June 27, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 70.
Larkin faced Albert Tumenov on January 2, 2016, at UFC 195.
Larkin faced Jorge Masvidal on May 29, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 88.
Larkin faced Neil Magny on August 20, 2016, at UFC 202.
Bellator MMA
In March 2017, Larkin announced he had signed a multi-fight deal with
Bellator MMA.
In his debut, Larkin faced welterweight champion Douglas Lima at Bellator NYC on June 24, 2017. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
In his second fight for the promotion, Larkin faced British striker Paul Daley on September 23, 2017, at .
Larkin faced Fernando Gonzalez in a catchweight bout at Bellator 193 on January 26, 2018.
Larkin was expected to face Erick Silva at Bellator 207.
Larkin was expected to headline Bellator 219 against Andrey Koreshkov on March 29, 2019, but withdrew from the fight due to an injury.
Larkin faced Keita Nakamura at on December 29, 2019.
Larkin was scheduled to face Costello van Steenis in a middleweight bout at Bellator 258 on May 7, 2021.
Larkin was scheduled to fight Khalid Murtazaliev on May 6, 2022 at Bellator 280.
Returning to Welterweight, Larkin faced Mukhamed Berkhamov on July 22, 2022 at Bellator 283.
The rematch of the no contest against Mukhamed Berkhamov took place on February 4, 2023 at Bellator 290.
Larkin faced Andrey Koreshkov on July 30, 2023 at Bellator MMA x Rizin 2.
Larkin made his PFL debut against Alan Dominguez at PFL 6 (2024) on June 28, 2024, winning the fight via TKO in the first round.
Larken next returned to Bellator to face Levan Chokheli in a Bellator Welterweight title eliminator on September 7, 2024 at Bellator Champions Series 4, winning the fight via TKO in the first round.
On November 20, 2024, it was reported that Larkin had completed his contract with PFL/Bellator.
Global Fight League
Larkin was scheduled to face Carlos Petruzzella on May 25, 2025 at GFL 2.
However, all GFL events were cancelled indefinitely.
Championships and accomplishments
-
Mez Sports MMA
-
MSMMA Light Heavyweight Championship (One time)
-
Ultimate Fighting Championship
-
Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio
-
Performance of the Night (One time) vs. John Howard
Mixed martial arts record
|-
|Win
|align=center|
|Levan Chokheli
|KO (punches)
|Bellator Champions Series 4
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|1:53
|San Diego, California, United States
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|
|Alan Dominguez
|TKO (knee and punches)
|PFL 6 (2024)
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|4:46
|Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States
|
|-
|Loss
|align=center|
|
Andrey Koreshkov
|Decision (split)
|Bellator MMA x Rizin 2
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Saitama, Japan
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|25–7 (2)
|Mukhamed Berkhamov
|KO (elbow)
|Bellator 290
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|1:41
|Inglewood, California, United States
|
|-
|NC
|align=center|24–7 (2)
|Mukhamed Berkhamov
|NC (illegal elbow)
|Bellator 283
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|2:52
|Tacoma, Washington, United States
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|24–7 (1)
|Kyle Stewart
|TKO (knees and punches)
|Bellator 280
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|4:44
|
Paris, France
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|23–7 (1)
|
Rafael Carvalho
|Decision (split)
|Bellator 258
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Uncasville, Connecticut, United States
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|22–7 (1)
|
Keita Nakamura
|Decision (unanimous)
|
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Saitama, Japan
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|21–7 (1)
|
Andrey Koreshkov
|Decision (split)
|Bellator 229
|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
|Temecula, California, United States
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|20–7 (1)
|Ion Pascu
|Decision (unanimous)
|Bellator 207
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Uncasville, Connecticut, United States
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|19–7 (1)
|Fernando Gonzalez
|Decision (unanimous)
|Bellator 193
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Temecula, California, United States
|
|-
|Loss
|align=center|18–7 (1)
|
Paul Daley
|KO (punches)
|
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|2:40
|San Jose, California, United States
|
|-
|Loss
|align=center|18–6 (1)
|
Douglas Lima
|Decision (unanimous)
|Bellator NYC
|
|align=center|5
|align=center|5:00
|New York City, New York, United States
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|18–5 (1)
|
Neil Magny
|TKO (elbows)
|UFC 202
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|4:08
|Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|17–5 (1)
|
Jorge Masvidal
|Decision (split)
|
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
|
|-
|Loss
|align=center|16–5 (1)
|
Albert Tumenov
|Decision (split)
|UFC 195
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 16–4 (1)
| Santiago Ponzinibbio
| TKO (punches)
|
|
| align=center| 2
| align=center| 3:07
| Hollywood, Florida, United States
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 15–4 (1)
| John Howard
| TKO (punches)
|
|
| align=center| 1
| align=center| 2:17
| Boston, Massachusetts, United States
|
|-
| Loss
| align=center| 14–4 (1)
|
Derek Brunson
| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC 177
|
| align=center| 3
| align=center| 5:00
| Sacramento, California, United States
|
|-
| Loss
| align=center| 14–3 (1)
|
Costas Philippou
| KO (punches)
|
|
| align=center| 1
| align=center| 3:47
| Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
|
|-
| Loss
| align=center| 14–2 (1)
|
Brad Tavares
| Decision (unanimous)
|
|
| align=center| 3
| align=center| 5:00
| Duluth, Georgia, United States
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 14–1 (1)
|
Chris Camozzi
| Decision (unanimous)
|
|
| align=center| 3
| align=center| 5:00
|
Fort Campbell,
Kentucky, United States
|
|-
| Loss
| align=center| 13–1 (1)
|
Francis Carmont
| Decision (unanimous)
|
|
| align=center| 3
| align=center| 5:00
| San Jose, California, United States
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 13–0 (1)
|
Robbie Lawler
| Decision (unanimous)
|
|
| align=center| 3
| align=center| 5:00
| Portland, Oregon, United States
|
|-
| NC
| align=center| 12–0 (1)
|
Muhammed Lawal
| NC (overturned)
|
|
| align=center| 2
| align=center| 1:32
| Las Vegas,
Nevada, United States
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 12–0
| Nick Rossborough
| Decision (unanimous)
|
|
| align=center| 3
| align=center| 5:00
| Las Vegas,
Nevada, United States
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 11–0
|
Gian Villante
| Decision (unanimous)
|
|
| align=center| 3
| align=center| 5:00
| Kent, Washington, United States
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 10–0
|
Scott Lighty
| TKO (punches)
|
|
| align=center| 2
| align=center| 3:15
| Stockton, California, United States
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 9–0
| Mike Cook
| TKO (punches)
| MEZ Sports: Pandemonium 4
|
| align=center| 2
| align=center| 3:32
| Riverside, California, United States
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 8–0
| Hector Carrillo
| KO (head kick and punches)
| MEZ Sports: Pandemonium 3
|
| align=center| 1
| align=center| 2:57
| Los Angeles, California, United States
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 7–0
| Rick Slaton
| KO (punches)
| MEZ Sports: Pandemonium 2
|
| align=center| 1
| align=center| 1:06
| Riverside, California, United States
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 6–0
| João Assis
| KO (punches)
| Respect in the Cage
|
| align=center| 1
| align=center| 1:43
| Hollywood, California, United States
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 5–0
| Scott Carson
| KO (punches)
| MEZ Sports: Pandemonium at the Palladium
|
| align=center| 1
| align=center| 2:54
| Los Angeles, California, United States
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 4–0
| Rick Guillen
| KO (punches)
| Champion Promotions: Clash of the Gladiators 2
|
| align=center| 1
| align=center| 2:30
| Palm Springs, California, United States
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 3–0
| Mychal Clark
| Decision (split)
| Respect in the Cage 4
|
| align=center| 3
| align=center| 5:00
| Pomona, California, United States
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 2–0
| Giovanni Sarran
| Decision (unanimous)
| Chaos in the Cage 6
|
| align=center| 3
| align=center| 5:00
| Lancaster, California, United States
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 1–0
| Lateef Williams
| KO (elbow)
| Fist Series: SummerFist III
|
| align=center| 1
| align=center| 0:40
| Irvine, California, United States
|
See also
-
List of male mixed martial artists
External links
