Scott Coker says Lorenz Larkin is next for Douglas Lima

Bellator president Scott Coker confirmed that Lorenz Larkin is next in line for a title shot against new Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima.

Coker was asked by the media following Bellator 232 who would get the next title shot against Douglas Lima, and the Bellator bossman confirmed that Lorenz Larkin is likely going to get a rematch against Lima.

However, Coker says Lorenz Larkin still has to win one more fight first at Bellator’s New Year’s Eve show in Japan. Should he win that, Coker says he’ll get a title shot.

Check out what Coker told the media at the Bellator 232 post-fight press conference below.

“We’re going to be taking Larkin to Japan to fight on the 29th on our show. They’re still working out the opponent but he will be fighting and representing Bellator against Rizin. So he’ll be busy there,” Coker said.

“I think Douglas Lima would probably like to take a couple of months off and then we’ll figure it out. But I think Larkin, unless he loses in Japan, he’s probably the No. 1 guy in that slot.”

Douglas Lima and Lorenz Larkin have fought previously in Bellator. The two fought at Bellator NYC in June 2017, with Lima winning a unanimous decision in what was at the time Larkin’s Bellator debut. Larkin then lost by knockout to Paul Daley but has since bounced back nicely with three straight wins over Fernando Gonzalez, Ion Pascu and in his last fight, former champ Andrey Koreshkov.

It appears Larkin’s recent victory over Koreshkov holds a lot of weight with Bellator’s matchmakers and that’s why Larkin is getting the next title shot over Daley, who also believes he should be getting a title shot. As long as Larkin wins in December against his next opponent, it looks like the title shot is his for the taking.

Are you excited about a potential rematch between Lorenz Larkin and Douglas Lima?