Lorenz Larkin lived up to his nickname “Da Monsoon” by raining down a furious barrage of punches to pick up another highlight finish.
In the co-main event of Bellator Champions Series: San Diego, Larkin (27-8) faced Levan Chokheli in a bout for welterweight No. 1 contender status. Larkin needed only 1:53 to close the show by TKO in the opening round.
It all started with a glancing right hand that at first, didn’t appear to connect. However, the shot took Chokheli’s balance, and he fell to the canvas. Larkin quickly capitalized and swarmed with punches until referee Jason Herzog saw enough to call it.
Check out video of the finish below (via X):
Lorenz Larkin is your Bellator welterweight No. 1 contender after this finish of Levan Chokheli. 👀 #BellatorSanDiegopic.twitter.com/t8ViWqwSy8
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) September 8, 2024
With the win, Larkin notches his second win of 2024, entering on the heels of another first-round finish of Alan Dominguez at 2024 PFL 6 in June. It’s been quite a run for Larkin, who has gone 9-1 in his last 10 fights.
Now, Larkin is the Bellator No. 1 contender, and has a shot at Ramazan Kuramagomedov’s welterweight title his his future.
On the other side, Chokheli suffers his first defeat since April 2022. He built a nice run of three consecutive victories, including a first-round stoppage of Sabah Homasi at Bellator 299, but couldn’t make it out of the opening round against Larkin here.
Up-to-the-minute Bellator Champions Series: San Diego results include:
- Lorenz Larkin def. Levan Chokheli via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:53
- Aaron Jeffery def. Douglas Lima via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Sumiko Inaba def. Mackenzie Stiller via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:25
- Jora Ayvazyan def. Yancy Medeiros via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Jordan Newman def. Imamshafi Aliev via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Masayuki Kikuiri def. Herman Terrado via TKO (liver kick and punches) – Round 3, 2:54
- Bryce Meredith def. John MaCalolooy via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:18
- Josh Hokit def. Sean Rose via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 4:58
- Ashley Thiner def. Alysia Cortez via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:11
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event page for Bellator Champions Series: San Diego.
