Former UFC welterweight contender Lorenz Larkin was happy to sign with the Bellator MMA promotion after taking his time to neogotiate his contract with the UFC was up. In fact, he said it was pretty much a complete 180 from where he’d come from. He explained the difference in earlier interview with MMAfighting.com prior to his fight with Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima.
“It’s a complete 180,” Larkin told MMA Fighting. “I have a one-on-one with [Bellator CEO] Scott [Coker], he calls me if he needs anything or vice versa. Its just a complete 180. I’m pretty sure in this fight, I got marketed more than in my whole career. And it’s disheartening to say that, but it’s true. I’ve never seen so much of me out there.”
“I’m pretty sure other fighters got that (treated like Johnson),” Larkin said. “With me, I never had a one-on-one with UFC as far as talking to them and things like about my career or contract or anything like that. He wouldn’t lie. It would be a dumb decision to make some stuff up like that so I’m pretty sure there’s truth to that story.”
Larkin also said that Bellator MMA has already promoted him better than promotional juggernaut the UFC.
“It’s crazy, all the years this has been the most I’ve been marketed,” Larkin said. “Everything happens for a reason, I’m glad everything happened, and I wouldn’t change it or I wouldn’t be here right now.”
