Paul Daley is set to clash with UFC veteran Lorenz Larkin at Bellator 183 later this month.
The British slugger has fought a lot of top notch opponents during his long MMA career, but he feels that Larkin is below the usual level of competition he faces.
“Obviously I’ve seen him compete in other promotions, but he wasn’t really a guy I ever thought I would fight until he signed with Bellator,” Daley said to MMA Junkie. “I wasn’t too interested in him. I know there was a whole big thing about who was going to sign him when he became a free agent, but I really didn’t give a (expletive). He’s not that interesting of a fighter to me. I’m not really phased by the name or the fact he’s beaten this guy or held a ranking. He’s below the level of fighter that I’m used to fighting.”
Larkin is going to be looking to pick up his first win in Bellator MMA against Daley, because he dropped a welterweight title fight to Douglas Lima at Bellator 180.
Daley is also promising his future opponent that he is going to have a bad night when they meet.
“It’s going to be a bad night for Lorenz, trust me on that,” Daley said. “I don’t give a (expletive) if he’s fought at middleweight or whatever weight. I’ve knocked bigger guys out my whole career, and he’s just going to be another one of those if he chooses to keep it standing. … Either way the end will come. He’s not the toughest guy that I’ve fought. His wrestling isn’t saying too much. His ground game I’m not giving him in the fight. Aand his stand-up, I’m not too intimidated by it. I just hope he fights the way he’s fought in his career, and we’ll see what goes down.”
Bellator 183 takes place on Saturday, September 23 from the SAP Center in San Jose, California with Ben Henderson and Patricky Freire headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which airs live on Spike TV.
