In another battle of Strikeforce vs. the UFC in this stacked San Jose card, former Strikeforce standout Lorenz Larkin looks to make a statement in his UFC debut against streaking TriStar Gym member Francis Carmont.
A lot is on the line for these two as the middleweight division is once against wide open behind champion Anderson Silva and number one contender Chris Weidman, a convincing win by either man could vault them into contender status.
Carmont (20-7) comes into this fight on a nine fight win streak; four of which came within the UFC’s octagon. His last outing wasn’t a stellar one, however, as he fought gritty veteran Tom Lawlor to a split decision victory, which many media outlets and fans alike felt he may not have deserved.
In his two fights prior to that, Carmont showed off his submission talents by finishing both opponents by rear-naked choke in the second round.
Although he possess knockout power and his athleticism allows him to strike from awkward angles, Carmont’s clearest path to victory has been when he has been able to take his opponents to the ground and work ground and pound as well as his submission game.
While he benefits from training at one of the best camps in the sport, Carmont sometimes seems to have lapses in focus which lead to losing superior positions at times. He also has shown the tendency to fade later in fights, which isn’t ideal to say the least.
Larkin (13-0-1) is 1-0 since moving down to middleweight where he defeated Robbie Lawler by unanimous decision. He was all set to take one Strikeforce champion Luke Rockhold at the final Strikeforce show before the champion was forced to withdrawal due to injury.
Larkin finally gets his chance to showcase his striking and overall mixed martial arts game on the big stage against Francis Carmont.
A vicious striker able to knock opponents out from just about anywhere, Larkin has shown an improved take down defense as well.
Now fighting guys his own size since moving down from light heavyweight, Larkin no longer should get bullied to the ground as he did against King Mo at 205lbs (bout later changed to no contest after Mo tested positive for a banned substance).
One of the top strikers in the division, Larkin’s future will most likely hinge on how fast his defensive wrestling can catch up.
In my opinion this is pretty much a classic striker vs. grappler match-up, as both men know exactly where they need to fight to win.
Carmont likely won’t have the athletic advantage he normally possess against Larkin, but can still win if the fight hit’s the ground, although I’m not entirely confident in Carmont’s ability to keep it there.
I can see Carmont winning the first round with steady takedown attempts before slowing his pace and getting picked apart by Larkin. It’s a close fight, but I’m thinking Larkin wins by unanimous decision.