Paul Daley up for Lorenz Larkin rematch only for Bellator interim welterweight title

Paul Daley has one stipulation for a potential rematch Lorenz Larkin.

Daley (42-17-2 MMA, 8-4 BMMA), who knocked Larkin out in their Bellator 183 fight in 2017, is willing to run things back as long as it’s for an interim welterweight title.

Since that loss, Larkin (22-7 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) has won his last four, positioning himself in 170-pound title contention, whereas Daley is coming off back-to-back wins over Erick Silva and Saad Awad.

So with champion Douglas Lima moving up a weight class to fight Gegard Mousasi for the vacant middleweight title at some point after the Bellator schedule resumes, Daley thinks it only makes sense that if they were to fight, it would be for the interim title.

And no matter how many times they fight, Daley is confident that it would lead to the same result.

“I find it so funny that it really gets to him, that loss, because there ain’t (expletive) he could do,” Daley told MMA Junkie. “If I fight him again, I’ll knock him out again. I’m just better than he is. Styles make fights and my style beats his style everyday. Whether it’s now, whether it’s next year, I’ll knock that guy out every time.

“At the moment, he’s talking about he beat Koreshkov and all of this stuff, trying to keep my name out of his future plans and that kind of shows his confidence in being able to get a win over me. He knows he can’t beat me, I know he can’t beat me but it’s an interesting fight only if it’s for the interim title.”

Daley was scheduled to face Sabah Homasi at Bellator 241 on March 13, but the event was canceled on the night of the fights due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

There is no official date for Bellator’s return, but the current target for the promotion is July.

So Daley sees his upcoming matchup depending on the current travel restrictions in the U.K. and if he’ll be able to make it out of the country.

“If I do get out to America, who knows, it could be one of the top 10 guys, it could be an interim title against the likes of Lorenz Larkin so who knows,” Larkin said. “I’m ready though, when they give me the call, I’ll be ready to fight whoever it is.”