By Dwight Wakabayashi
French fighter and Tristar Gym member Francis Carmont will have an opportunity to play the ultimate spoiler this weekend when he faces undefeated Strikeforce import Lorenz Larkin at UFC on FOX 7 in San Jose.
The UFC on FOX 7 card has turned out to be a very intriguing card, with a UFC vs. Strikeforce theme playing out from top to bottom. Carmont is four fights into his UFC career and has not lost in the Octagon. His last fight was a controversial decision win over Tom Lawlor at UFC 154 in Montreal, but despite the win, it could be pegged as the worst performance of his young career.
Watch Saturday’s UFC on FOX 7: Henderson vs. Melendez on Sportsnet ONE, starting with prelims at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT, then the main card at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
Lawlor’s smothering style contributed to the lack of explosiveness in Carmont’s game and he will certainly be looking for a bounce-back performance against a much different opponent in Larkin, who will be making his UFC debut.
In a recent interview with John Morgan of MMAjunkie.com, Carmont made it very clear what he thought of his performance at UFC 154.
“I didn’t make the fight I wanted,” Carmont said. “I want to finish all my fights, so I’m not satisfied with my performance against Tom Lawlor, but I’m going to come back strong to make a good fight.”
His last fight was the first in his home town of Montreal, where he now lives after moving from Paris, France, and the pressure of fighting in front of family and friends clearly hindered his game. Fighting in San Jose and across the continent from his home in Montreal should serve well for Carmont and help him get back to the explosive destroyer displayed in his first three fights in the UFC.
“I didn’t feel good,” Carmont revealed. “I think there was a lot of pressure because I had a lot of friends and family in Montreal. Usually I go to another country to fight, but this was my country now, and I think there was a little bit of pressure.
“When go to another country, you don’t know anybody. You just do your work. But when you fight in your own country, it’s so different.”
Carmont was hesitant and unable to create space against Lawlor, something he can’t afford to be against a flashy and dangerous striker like Larkin. The California native is extremely explosive and capable of a highlight-reel knockout at any second.
But don’t expect Carmont to take a page out of Lawlor’s smothering book.
“He’s not a wrestling guy (who) will look to kill the fight. He comes for an exciting fight. I come for that, too. It’s going to be an exciting fight. I prefer to stand up in the fight. He is the same. It’s true, it’s MMA, and you must do wrestling and jiu-jitsu, but if he wants to strike, I’m ready for that.
“I want people to know who I am,” Carmont added. “I don’t want to make a boring fight. That happens to every fighter. Even Anderson Silva has had boring fights. But I want to forget about that last fight. I want to move forward and put on exciting fights.”
Carmont has the chance to complete a stellar MMA hat trick this weekend with an exciting win by spoiling Larkin’s UFC debut, handing him his first professional loss and making it a Fight of the Night candidate all in one shot.
Carmont has been living and training in Montreal for a few years now and although he is a French national, he has been accepted as a transplanted Canadian fighter.
He is the only Canadian fighter on the preliminary card while Lethbridge, Alta.’s own Jordan Mein will open the main card in a pivotal fight against veteran Matt Brown.