Robbie Lawler vs. Lorenz Larkin preview
‘Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy’ is next up in a hectic week of mixed martial arts action as the Zuffa-owned promotion takes the show to the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon with two title fights topping the main card. MMABay is at hand to break down the main card action, starting with a middleweight bang-fest featuring experienced slugger, Robbie Lawler, taking on electrifying striker, Lorenz Larkin. Will Lawler stop another prospect dead in his tracks, or will the unpredictable Larkin bring ‘The Monsoon’ to Portland? Find out after the jump…
Robbie Lawler (19-8)
After ending 2010 on a high by flattening Matt Lindland and thoughtfully putting him into the recovery position upon impact, middleweight bruiser ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler found 2011 to be a major comedown. The striker, fighting out of the HIT Squad in Illinois, dropped back to back losses as his status in the middleweight division was called into question.
Lawler was submitted by Strikeforce champion, Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza, in the third round after mounting little offense and then looked awfully gun-shy in his fight with current number one contender, Tim Kennedy, who won a comfortable unanimous decision.
But the ‘Ruthless’ one returned to the win sheet in January, folding Russian crowd-pleaser, Adlan Amagov, with a bizarre leaping kick and punches, handing Amagov his first loss in the promotion.
Lorenz Larkin (12-0)
After going 9-0 on the regional circuit as a heavyweight, despite only standing 5ft 11in tall, Lorenz ‘The Monsoon’ Larkin made a stunning Strikeforce debut last April when he destroyed K-1 standard striker, Scott Lighty, on short notice.
The colourful Californian embarassed his opponent standing, stopping him in the second round before taking touch-and-go decisions over both Gian Villante and Nick Rossborough. With a background in kickboxing and kung fu, Larkin quickly became a fan favourite but seemingly bit off more than he could chew in January.
Facing former Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion, Muhammed ‘King Mo’ Lawal, Larkin was quickly taken down and in round two, Lawal rendered him unconscious with ground and pound. However, when ‘King Mo’ tested positive for steroids following the fight, it was ruled a No Contest and ‘The Monsoon’s record stays, luckily, untouched. Taking the hint, Larkin has moved down to 185lbs where he faces the lethal Robbie Lawler – talk about a baptism of fire.
The Verdict: An exciting clash of striking styles pits Larkin’s slick, unpredictable kung fu antics against Lawler’s black-belt in ‘smash your jaw with haymakers’. Larkin will be quicker but if the weight-cut doesn’t go to plan, he could gas hard and become easy pickings for Lawler’s head-hunting. There’s little to no chance of this one going to ground, so expect Larkin to pick his way ahead on the scorecards with low and high kicks as Lawler becomes increasingly frustrated, edging out the veteran to remain unbeaten. Larkin, decision.
By Steve Davies.
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Photo by Esther Lin – STRIKEFORCE
