Lorenz Larkin, A Sleeper Contender at 185

[JonSnitchPhones]

If you look back at his last two fights, in retrospect they were tremendously impressive performances.

In his last fight, the virtual consensus was he got robbed against Francis Carmont, in a match where he stuffed 9 of 11 of the French Canadian's takedowns. A takedown which appears very potent after Carmont repeatedly took down Phillippou who was regarded as having some of the better tdd in the mw division.

Then, in his fight previous to that, he out-struck Robbie Lawler from bell to bell, winning a 30-27 clinic on the feet. Lawler's stock has shot up since he reentered the UFC, and on the feet he's never been questioned, having not lost the stand-up since 2004 when he got ko'ed by Nick Diaz, shortly after his 22nd birthday.

In 2 fights in the MW division in Zuffa, Larkin has already displayed striking and tdd that would put him among the better guys in the division in those categories. Those attributes will bode well in his future attempts at moving up the ladder in his division.

Larkin deserves to be a heavy favorite over Camozzi, and expect an appearance for him in the top 10, if not even top 5 in the future. His move down a weight class, and early impressive performances there, is reminiscent of T.J. Grant's at 155, only with tougher opposition and some bad fortune.

 

[Mikeyz]

If you look back at his last two fights, in retrospect they were tremendously impressive performances.

In his last fight, the virtual consensus was he got robbed against Francis Carmont, in a match where he stuffed 9 of 11 of the French Canadian's takedowns. A takedown which appears very potent after Carmont repeatedly took down Phillippou who was regarded as having some of the better tdd in the mw division.

Then, in his fight previous to that, he out-struck Robbie Lawler from bell to bell, winning a 30-27 clinic on the feet. Lawler's stock has shot up since he reentered the UFC, and on the feet he's never been questioned, having not lost the stand-up since 2004 when he got ko'ed by Nick Diaz, shortly after his 22nd birthday.

In 2 fights in the MW division in Zuffa, Larkin has already displayed striking and tdd that would put him among the better guys in the division in those categories.

Larkin deserves to be a heavy favorite over Camozzi, and expect an appearance for him in the top 10, if not even top 5 in the future. His move down a weight class, and early impressive performances there, reminds me of T.J. Grant's at 155, only with tougher opposition and some bad fortune.

When I first saw this thread, I was wondering if you were going to mention the Carmont fight and sure enough you did.

I completely agree with you TS, very well said

 

[Hanri]

Yeah. His fight with Carmont was one of the few cases where robbery is the right word.

 

[kmasonbx]

I might be wrong but didn't Babalu beat Lawler pretty clearly in what was basically a striking match? I don't remember Babalu being able to get Lawler down.

Anyway, I agree. I really like Larkin. Would have loved to see him fight Rockhold, but Rockhold just can't stay healthy. Kind of disappointing that the UFC treated the Carmont fight as a loss for Larking and a win for Carmont, with Carmont fighting Costa and Larkin getting Camozzi, I feel like it should have been the other way around.

 

[Sedita**]

I agree 100% he never ended up fighting Rockhold which is a fight he just might have won for the middleweight belt.

Lorenz Larkin Definatley an underrated guy people are sleeping on, Honestly Lorenz Larkin vs Lyoto machida or Cung le would be two INSANE fights.

With that being said I expect him to Steamroll Chris Camozzi, who is a good fighter but gets paired up with the wrong guys.

 

[ShreddinMMA]

Yeah, he put a striking clinic on Carmont. And he used a bunch of stand up tools you don't see often. Got robbed in that fight.

I'm excited to see him in his next fight. He should run over Camozzi.

Him against Vitor down the road would be a great fight.

 

[loxcane]

I remember watching the Gian Villante fight and thinking if this guy ever goes to 185 he could be a monster. Now he's where he should be and he looks great. Strikes really well and has really nice TDD, where at 205 he just got muscled to the ground against Mo Lawal(who's wrestling credentials obviously speak for themselves.). On top of that, he's still pretty young, so we'll see what happens in his next few fights, but I agree... He's one to watch out for for sure

 

[heavyarms21]

Yeah. His fight with Carmont was one of the few cases where robbery is the right word.

Yup when judges award a lay and pray and not take into account Larkin's effective scoring

 

[Takingnames760]

I've been saying the same thing for a while now too. I tend to agree with basically everything you say haha

 

[trane]

He will break into the top 10 soon

 

[dropshot001]

Well said. Hope he gets some more high profile fights soon.

 

[PirateTetra]

LOVE HIS STYLE

 

[teammb1]

I think he'll be cut by the end of next year

 

[Zlatan1]

Lorenz fights like a Tekken character. Clearly won against Carmont (so did Lawler).

 

[PirateTetra]

I think he'll be cut by the end of next year

Fucking buzzkill right here

 

[Karelinator]

Definitely very interesting fighter.

Too bad that judges gonna judge.

Carmont should be fighting Camozzi. :/

 

[Sopapo]

Good fighter. Tough division.

 

[ravifreitas]

He's the MW blackhorse.

 

[Thai Otoshi]

Yeah, he put a striking clinic on Carmont. And he used a bunch of stand up tools you don't see often. Got robbed in that fight.

I'm excited to see him in his next fight. He should run over Camozzi.

Him against Vitor down the road would be a great fight.

Yeah Larkin was throwing everything but the kitchen sink, was the only one landing anything significant, and it wasn't just his excellent TDD, but HOW he was defending against them.

People tend to dismiss a lot of what the commentators say as hyperbole, but I haven't seen shit like that since Prime Penn.

Also, those weren't just one and done, "Oops, I can't get it...", try and let go TD's. Carmont wasn't letting go without a fight, and he still largely was just wasting his time and energy.

 

[SanabriaMan]

He's going to murder Chris Camozzi. The dude is a killer and only getting better.