Lorenz Larkin out of Bellator 219 bout with Andrey Koreshkov (@davedoylemma) https://t.co/yFw4I7nBpn pic.twitter.com/TmhoYGeaMV
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) February 28, 2019
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Bellator MMA has lost part of a big main event for Bellator 219 at the end of March, after Lorenz Larkin has reportedly suffered an injury and withdrawn from his bout with Andrey Koreshkov.
According to MMAFighting on Thursday, Larkin (20-7, 1 NC) has been forced to withdraw due to an injury from his welterweight main event bout against Koreshkov (21-3) at Bellator 219 on March 29 in Temecula, California. The promotion is currently seeking a replacement for this bout.
Larkin left the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2016 riding a two-fight win streak, but quickly ran into stiff competition in the form of Douglas Lima and Paul Daley. After dropping those two bouts, Larkin rebounded with two decision wins over Fernando Gonzalez and Ion Pascu last year. Larkin began his career in 2009 as a heavyweight, dropping down to light heavyweight in Strikeforce before meeting Robbie Lawler in 2012 at middleweight. In the UFC, Larkin made five appearances at middleweight and another five at welterweight, going 4-1 at 170 pounds with two post-fight bonuses.
Koreshkov was looking to bounce back after dropping the third-latest finish loss in Bellator history, when he was put to sleep by Lima at 3:04 of the fifth round at Bellator 206. The former Bellator welterweight champ has still never lost a fight on the scorecards, with all three of his stoppage losses — all five-round fights — coming in the third round or later. Prior to getting finished by Lima, Koreshkov had rattled off back-to-back knockouts of Chidi Njokuani and Vaso Bakocevic, where in the latter he scored the fourth spinning back kick knockout in Bellator history.
Bellator 219 will take place on March 29 at the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, California.