Bellator 290: Gracie, Larkin and Bates hope to erase frustrations

A trio of local fighters will be participating on the Bellator 290 preliminaries card Saturday night at The Forum.

All three are coming off different yet equally frustrating outcomes in their last fights.

Here’s a look at the fighters, their last bouts and what to expect Saturday:

NEIMAN GRACIE

“Things are not going as planned, but when things are not going as planned, you have to find a way to make it work.”

Those are words of inspiration, and possibly self-motivation, from the 34-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu standout. It has been a tough run lately for Gracie, who has gone 2-4 in less than four years.

In addition to his MMA career, it has been a tumultuous time after he moved his family from New York to Newport Beach in late 2020 to escape the pandemic. “New York got really, really bad with the coronavirus and I used that … to leave,” he told the Southern California News Group in March 2021.

At the time, Gracie was on the cusp of vying for the Bellator welterweight title. But he lost a unanimous decision to Jason Jackson, then rebounded with a first-round TKO of Mark Lemminger.

Things did not go as planned in 2022 as Gracie dropped a unanimous decision in a stellar fight with Logan Storley, then in his last fight was knocked out late in the second round by Goiti Yamauchi in August.

After some self-assessment, Gracie says he knows what he has to do.

“There’s three aspects. The mental aspect, the physical aspect and the fighting itself,” said Gracie, who trains at Kings MMA in Huntington Beach with Master Rafael Cordeiro. “Those three things have to be in line to win fights. I’ve been there before. I won nine fights straight and I plan on doing the same again.”

Gracie (11-4) was scheduled to face Michael Lombardo on Saturday, but two weeks before the event, Lombardo was forced to withdraw and was replaced by Dante Schiro (9-4).

No pressure, said Gracie. That’s reserved for fighting in front of his uncles, Royce and Gracie, who will be among the MMA legends in attendance for the retirement fight of heavyweight great Fedor Emelianenko.

“My uncles, they are like superheroes for me,” he said. “When I was growing up, I remember when I dressed for Halloween, I used to dress up in my gi and say that I am Royce Gracie.”

LORENZ LARKIN

“I’m just like … what?”

To hear Larkin tell it, he was speechless with how his July bout finished with Mukhamed Berkhamov.

Larkin doesn’t dispute he connected with an illegal elbow to the back of Berkhamov’s head less than three minutes into their welterweight fight at Bellator 283 in Tacoma, Washington.

It’s what happened after the unintentional blow that resulted in the fight being called a no contest.

“If you get hit in a certain spot, if you get hit with force, you’re dropped,” the Riverside fighter said. “If it doesn’t drop you, it’s gonna make your knees buckle, you know? And I hit him with it. And he was still fighting for the takedown.”

Larkin (24-7, 2 NC) said it wasn’t until the referee halted the action as a result of the elbow that Berkhamov (15-1, 1 NC) faltered. Even more infuriating to Larkin was when the referee asked Berkhamov if he could continue.

“His coach said, ‘Whoa, he will be disqualified, right?’” said Larkin, who trains at Millennia MMA in Rancho Cucamonga. “If I’m down from an illegal blow and my coach comes in, and they asked me am I able to fight, the last thing my coach is gonna ask is, ‘Is it gonna be a DQ (disqualification)?’”

The decision ended a run of six consecutive victories for Larkin, 36, who said he was more than happy to accept another fight against an unranked opponent on a 12-fight winning streak whom few wanted to face.

But don’t ask him how Saturday will go. “I don’t know. I just know that I’ve been training my (butt) off and I’m ready for whatever he brings to me,” Larkin said.

JAYLON BATES

“Disappointing.”

That was the quick reply as to how Bates felt his last fight went.

Unlike Gracie and Larkin, it was a victory, albeit a split decision over Mike Coates at Bellator 283 in July, to keep Bates’ perfect record intact.

“That last fight, I was undisciplined. And you know, also being undisciplined, having like women and doing like all the young things,” Bates said.

Life is different now for the 26-year-old. He now has a fiancee and a child on the way in July.

“I’m excited. I’m disciplined, focused. Just a whole different mindset,” he said.

In the summer of 2021, after an 8-0 amateur career and a 3-0 start in Bellator, Bates bolted from Portland, Oregon, to join Antonio and A.J. McKee’s Team Bodyshop.

Less than three weeks upon arrival, Bates was making a cameo as A.J. McKee’s workout partner in The Forum parking lot days before McKee dethroned Patricio Pitbull to win the $1 million Featherweight Grand Prix at Bellator 263.

He hasn’t regretted the move since. “I would say life-changing, but it’s really an experience. You see what hard work and dedication looks like,” said Bates (6-0), who lives in Lakewood in a small unit behind Antonio McKee’s house.