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Bellator 207 results: Lorenz Larkin nets tourney alternate spot with decision over Ion Pascu

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Larkin Larkin secured position as the top alternate choice in the Bellator welterweight grand prix when he defeated Ion Pascu by unanimous decision at Bellator 207.

The welterweight grand prix alternate bout between Larkin (20-7 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) and Pascu (17-9 MMA, 0-2 BMMA) aired on the Paramount-televised main card from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., following prelims streamed on MMAjunkie.

“He’s tough, man,” Larkin said during his post-fight interview with John McCarthy. “He took the fight on short notice, and I got the chance to display my skills.”

Larkin opened the fight throwing his patented leg kicks, which caused Pascu to shoot for multiple early takedowns. He struggled to do anything more than push Larkin against the fence, though, before “The Monsoon” would break away into free space and go back to his kicking game.

Once Larkin found the range with his kicks, he opened up with punches, as well. He cracked Pascu with several whipping punches to the head. Pascu timed one of the punches and ducked under to get on the legs of Larkin, but even with a deep shot and trip, he couldn’t manage to ground his opponent at all in the first round.

A much more desperate Pascu came out firing in the second round. He accidentally caught Larkin with a low kick, but Larkin waved off the referee before he could break the action. Pascu began to find some success with his wining punches, but that just caused Larkin to fight more intelligently and work behind his jab and slicing leg kicks. Larkin nearly found a home with a jumping knee and head kick, but Pascu’s mobility on his feet kept him from absorbing anything clean on the feet.

In the final two minutes of Round 2, Larkin actually initiated a clinch and briefly put Pascu against the cage. It didn’t stay there for long, however, before the fight returned to the center of the cage. Pascu scored with a combination, but there wasn’t much on it. Pascu caught one of Larkin’s kicks, but from one leg, Larkin launched an uppercut that took Pascu off his feet momentarily. He quickly recovered and pressed Larkin against the fence until the end of the round.

Despite being comfortably ahead going into the final round, Larkin did not shy away form the action. He popped Pascu in the gut with a front kick and followed up with a punching combination. Pascu refused to fold, though, pressing the action and trying to find an opening of any kind to turn the tide of the fight. Larkin refused to give it to him and stuck to his gameplan of mixing in other strikes behind his jab and kicks. Pascu timed a kick and finally got a takedown that immediately put him into side control. He fired off a series of punches, but Larkin keeps things tight from the bottom and recovered guard. Pascu tried to posture up and land something meaningful before falling back with a leg lock in the final 15 seconds. Larkin slipped out and got on top where the fight came to an end.

The two athletes embraced at the final bell and Larkin comfortably took the decision with 29-28 scorecards across the board.

“I gave it my all,” Larkin said. “I haven’t fought since January. It’s been a long time and I need that ring time. … Whoever is in the (tournament) final I want next.”

  • Lorenz Larkin def. Ion Pascu via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Corey Browning def. Kevin Ferguson Jr. via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:08
  • Mandel Nallo def. Carrington Banks via knockout (knee) – Round 2, 0:07
  • Vinicius de Jesus def. Tim Caron via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Janay Harding def. Sinead Kavanagh via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 1, 5:00
  • Andre Fialho def. Javier Torres majority decision (28-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Sarah Click def. Kristi Lopez unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Mike Kimbel def. Alex Potts via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:06
  • Alexandra Ballou def. Lisa Blaine via TKO (elbows) – Round 3, 3:28
  • Pat Casey def. Kastriot Xhema via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)

For complete coverage of Bellator 207, check out the MMA Events section of the site.

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