Lorenz Larkin will get pass for weight miss, could fight Douglas Lima or Michael Page next

Bellator president Scott Coker said that welterweight contender Lorenz Larkin will get a pass for missing weight at Bellator Japan and could get a title shot next.

Larkin weighed in at 173.5lbs for his fight against fellow UFC alum Keita Nakamura on the main card. Larkin went on to dominate the bout en route to winning a lopsided unanimous decision, but the fact he missed weight made some believe he would be knocked down the title shot pecking order for Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima’s belt.

Not so, says Coker. The Bellator bossman says that he is going to give Larkin a pass for the weight miss since it was the first time in his career that he came in heavy.

Here’s what Coker told the media in Japan.

“We can look past that. I mean listen, he came a long way, and that’s not an easy task. The flight, the trip, it’s just a different environment, and the timeframe’s different, I think that has a lot to do with it. The guy’s fought I think like 24 fights or whatever it is, he has never missed weight. So we have to give him a pass for that one,” Coker said.

Coker said that Bellator is likely going to book Larkin against Lima for the title next, but he could also potentially fight Michael Page.

“To me, I think the fight that we would like to see is Lorenz fight Lima because he hasn’t fought him before. But I’d also like to see Lorenz fight MVP too, so we’ll see. We’ll mix it up. We’re going to have fun with that weight class,” Coker said.

It should be noted that Lima and Larkin have fought before in Bellator in 2017, so perhaps Coker misspoke when he said that. Larkin lost a decision that night, but a rematch is still intriguing. Then again, perhaps a fresh fight against Page would be even better.

Would you rather see Lorenz Larkin fight Douglas Lima or Michael Page next?