Larkin takes rematch with an elbow KO of Berkhamov

INGLEWOOD >> With one short and legal elbow, Lorenz Larkin made a loud statement with an early entry for Knockout of the Year.

Emerging from a clinch, Larkin cracked Mukhamed Berkhamov with a thudding elbow to the temple, instantly dropping the Russian for a first-round knockout in their rematch on the Bellator 290 preliminary card Saturday at The Forum.

The Riverside welterweight immediately celebrated, sitting atop the fence to the fans’ delight as Berkhamov (14-1, 1 NC) lay face down in the middle of the cage at 1:41 of the first round.

“It feels so good,” Larkin said of the thunderous walk-off, which became a signature style of win for former UFC star Mark Hunt. “Just watching it you know and then the walk-off is just like homage to Mark Hunt, you know? It is not getting much better. My son, my fiancée, my daughter’s in the crowd.”

Larkin, who said he hopes to fight again at Bellator 293 on March 31 at Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, called it one of the most satisfying finishes of his career.

“He had this hype behind him. A lot of guys didn’t want to fight him. 14-0,” Larkin said.

Now undefeated in eight consecutive fights, Larkin (25-7, 2 NC) was looking for revenge after the two fought to a no contest at Bellator 283 in July. That fight was also halted midway through the opening round due to an elbow deemed to be a foul.

While fighting a takedown, Larkin connected with an illegal elbow to the back of Berkhamov’s head. Larkin believed Berkhamov’s reaction to the elbow, and saying he couldn’t continue, was delayed after the referee jumped in.

But Saturday night, Larkin landed a clean elbow to put to rest any doubts. Once he saw the left side of Berkhamov’s head exposed, instinct kicked in.

“It’s kind of like a slow motion, but it’s also like second nature because we work these movements in camp and even in the back room before I came out,” Larkin said. “It’s just if the opportunity presents itself, and I think maybe just from drilling and embedding that in my body. It’s just second nature.” In other fights Saturday:

• Henry Corrales rallied to win the last two rounds for a unanimous-decision victory and hand Akhmed Magomedov his first defeat.

All three judges gave the former La Mirada resident the last two rounds over Magomedov (10-1, 1 NC) for a 29-28 victory on all cards. Corrales has won three in a row to improve to 21-6.

• Undefeated heavyweights Steve Mowry and Ali Isaev stayed that way, fighting to a draw despite a resoundingly dominant second round by Mowry.

All three judges scored it 28-28, giving Isaev the first and final rounds by 10-9 scores. Mowry (10-0-1, 1 NC) almost finished Isaev (9-0-1) in a 10-8 second round, taking him down and delivering massive punishment as referee Herb Dean appeared close to stopping it.

• Coming off a loss to eventual lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov, Chris Gonzalez proved he is still a threat at 155 pounds with a TKO victory over Max Rohskopf.

Gonzalez (8-2), fighting out of Sacramento, floored Rohskopf (7-2) with a right to the forehead and followed with several rights before the fight was stopped at 1:22 of the second round.

• Grant Neal improved to 8-1 with a split-decision victory over Karl Albrektsson.

The judges scored it 2829, 29-28, 29-28 for the Denver light heavyweight. Albrektsson dropped his second in a row to fall to 13-5.

• Diana Avsaragova remained perfect with a splitdecision victory over (6-0) defeated Alejandra Lara (97) via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Avsaragova won the fight 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 to improve to 6-0. Lara (9-7), who outstruck the Russian flyweight 99-57 and outkicked her 38-7, lost her fourth consecutive fight to drop to 9-7.

• In the opening bout, Nikita Mikhailov (10-2) defeated Darrion Caldwell (157) via unanimous decision.

All three judges scored it 29-28 for the Russian bantamweight, who improved to 1-0. Caldwell (157), the former 135-pound champ who fights out of Redlands, has now lost four in a row.