For Lorenz Larkin, ‘Awkward’ Style Key to Striking

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Do not expect a conventional game from Lorenz Larkin when he makes his UFC debut Saturday against Francis Carmont at UFC on Fox 7.

Ahead of the matchup, Larkin joined the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show to discuss his striking style, his opponent and more.

On whether he still considers himself undefeated after a loss to Muhammed Lawal was changed to a no contest due to Lawal’s testing positive for an anabolic steroid: “Oh yeah, I consider myself undefeated just for the simple fact of how everything played out. I wouldn’t give that person the benefit of the doubt to think that they beat me. I would rather give that to a deserving individual that really beat me for all the right reasons and after the medical tests came back clear. I would much rather give that to that person, a well-deserved win.”

On how he views being undefeated: “I always looked at it like I was never scared to lose. I always looked at it, in my own head, that somebody was going to have to kill me to get that win. I think that’s the thing that always helped me out. I was never so worried about my record. I just always looked at it like if somebody’s going to beat me, they’re going to have to do everything in the book to do it.”

On whether it’s nonsense that some fans feel Strikeforce fighters were given favorable matchups on the UFC on Fox 7 card: “I didn’t get no favorable matchup. I got matched up with a beast. … I don’t know about the other guys, but I didn’t get a favorable matchup.”

On his style: “I guess the base of it would be boxing. I did amateur boxing. … Everybody gets taught the exact same way, how to throw the jab, their two and their three and their uppercut, and I always tried to do things on an awkward level as far as how could I throw my two a little different so it’s awkward and people don’t see it? How can I throw this kick at a different angle? I always looked at things like that, and it kind of just grew into my own style.”

On whether he’s flashy: “I try to stay away from the word because everybody thinks ‘flashy’ is guys putting their faces out and sticking their tongues out. It’s not about that. It’s just the things that guys throw. You look at [Anthony] Pettis or you look at anybody that just does crazy, awkward kicks, but they consider it flashy. It is flashy, but they have bad intentions behind it. … Like a flashy kick with somebody who’s really trying to throw it and it connects on the guy, it’s going to put him down. It’s not like something we’re doing just for the fans.”

On his strategies in fights: “I’ll have a little bit of a game plan, things that I want to do, but as far as things that I’m predicting that [opponents are] going to do, I never think about. I adjust in the ring. I think for all these different fighters, sometimes it’s hard to adapt to another fighter. I think that’s one of the things I’m really strong at is adapting wherever the fight goes.”

Listen to the full interview (beginning at 1:14:15).