Even at 38 years old, Lorenz Larkin is not slowing down.
Now, his next fight will present a likely last opportunity to earn gold thanks to his win at Saturday’s Bellator Champions Series event in San Diego.
Larkin, a former UFC and Strikeforce fighter, faced Levan Chokheli in the co-main event at Pechanga Arena. The Georgian appeared set to present some challenge after catching a kick from Larkin and knocking him down.
Chokheli, however, allowed the veteran back to his feet, a decision that proved to be a costly mistake when Larkin landed a right hand that wobbled Chokheli moments later.
That started a flurry, paving the way for the American to score a TKO finish in just under two minutes.
Lorenz Larkin Stops Levan Chokheli Quickly To Earn Bellator Welterweight Title Shot
Larkin has now won nine of his last 11 fights and will take on Bellator welterweight champion Ramazan Kuramagomedov at some point to be determined.
“The Monsoon” challenged for the same belt in his Bellator debut back in 2017 but fell to Douglas Lima. That result came off the back of a two-fight win streak in the UFC, with wins over Jorge Masvidal and Neil Magny concluding his four-year stint on MMA’s biggest stage.
Chokheli, meanwhile, sees a three-fight winning run snapped. He is now 4-3 under the banner of Bellator, which was acquired by the Professional Fighters League (PFL) in late 2023.
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