Bare Knuckle is seemingly a fairly booming permutation of pugilism with many combatants keen to get involved but an ex-UFC veteran is not looking to drop the gloves himself. Lorenz Larkin has fought for some of the biggest MMA leagues on the planet and has a certain eagerness to try out some other combat sports.
The former veteran of circuits like UFC, Bellator MMA, and Strikeforce recently made a successful debut in Karate Combat for instance as Larkin secured a decision win over Buddy Wallace at Karate Combat 56 on July 19th. While 'The Monsoon' seems intrigued in exploring some independent contractor opportunities as a combat athlete, Larkin does not seem destined for BKFC or BKB at any point in time.
Lorenz Larkin discussed this during a recent interview with MMA Junkie Radio as Larkin said,
"Nah, man. … If a fighter gets into a fight in the street, it's gonna be quick. The fight's gonna be over, done deal, because the other guy doesn't know anything. They have bare hands, that fighter is probably going to punch him two times, if that, and it's gonna be over. But, you get two guys having a training camp that are going to go in and fight each other, with bare knuckles? No. I'm good off that."
While he is out on bare knuckle, it seems like gloved boxing is enticing as Larkin discussed his hopes to arrange a deal with Misfits Boxing. It also turns out we may see more of Lorenz Larkin in the Karate Combat pit as he spoke highly of the organization structuring a deal with him that allows him to compete in other combat sports.
Some of Larkin's past opponents who have fought in Bare Knuckle
Bare Knuckle and the prevalance of cuts within it seemed to dissuade Larkin but many of his past opponents have given gloveless combat a whirl. Just to name a few examples, Fernando Gonzalez, who Larkin bested at Bellator 193 via unanimous decision, has dropped the gloves a pair of times under the BKFC banner. Gonzalez has a .500 record so far across two outings in 2024 with an attempted booking for January of this year against tenured BKFC combatant Erick Lozano falling out.
Chris Camozzi lost to Larkin on points in their November 2013 UFC fight and nowadays, Camozzi has ascended to the status of reigning BKFC cruiserweight champion after his first bid for cruiserweight gold against Lorenzo Hutn falling short at BKFC 50. Larkin lost to Derek Brunson at UFC 177 and while the debut hasn't happened yet, Brunson signed with BKFC and this was announced at the company's Champions Summitt press event. John Howard was also a past Larkin opponent who tried out bare knuckle, losing his BKFC debut effort in June.
