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Lorenz Larkin is hoping to come to terms on a new deal with the UFC and plans on talking to Dana White this weekend at UFC 204 in Manchester, England. That being said, the 30-year-old welterweight is well prepared to entertain options outside of the promotion if need be when the 90-day exclusive negotiating period expires next month.



"Nobody has reached out yet, so I'm still wandering the streets of Manchester jobless," said Larkin. "Hopefully soon the UFC will contact me with a new contract. I'm still under the waiting period, which is 90 days from my last fight, so on November 20th, other promotions can put offers in. We're getting a lot of interest, so I know there will be offers put in on me. Right now it's just a waiting game, which the sucky part about this."



So what does Larkin want? A bump up in pay goes without saying, but he also feels he hasn't been given the promotional push or afforded the opportunities or platform to showcase his personality.



"The best-case scenario is that I end up with the promotion that is going to put the marketing backing behind me and will pay me what I deserve," said Larkin. "I'm not a boring fighter. Every fight, I bring it, so I'm an exciting fighter. I don't feel like I'm not marketable. My style is definitely marketable. I feel like I give 110% with anyone I'm working with, whether it's the UFC or a local backyard promotion, and that's what I want back from my employer."



Larkin feels he's gone over and above for the promotion both in the Octagon and outside and at times even paid his own way to try and get in front of fans and gain some extra exposure.



"I never denied anything, and I'm always willing to work," said Larkin. "I never said I was too busy for anything. If I ever got the call, I'm willing and able to work. I've been to the Fan Expos in the last two, three years but never done anything with the UFC. The UFC have never had me come out and do anything with the fans. I spend my own money to go out there.



"I go and hang out with the fans and experience the Fan Expo, and that's all on my dime. I'm not complaining about it, but this shouldn't be like that. They should have me out there and do meet and greets. Everything I've earned in the fight game has been through me, not by them pushing and marketing me other than a fight week, but that's normal. Outside of fight week, it's been nothing at all."



Larkin went into his fight against Neil Magny at UFC 202 in August knowing there was plenty riding on him getting the win—more so than usual—because it was the final fight on his contract. Following his first round TKO win, he thought the performance would be more than enough to get what he feels he deserves. That, unfortunately, was not the case.



"After the Magny fight, it was time to renegotiate, and we just didn't see eye to eye," said Larkin. "They decided to let me fight my last fight and I felt that was like an 'F you' to me. Especially putting me up against the No. 7 ranked guy in the world. All that means to me is, that's an 'F you.' Fight the No. 7 guy but I'm not ranked.



"The thing is, I never cared about rankings, but it's like, take a loss and then there is no leverage on the renegotiation. So if you want to play like that then I will roll the dice, and everything played out the way it did."



Larkin hasn't yet had the opportunity to express his feelings to UFC management but is hoping he can get some time in front of UFC president Dana White this weekend in Manchester, England.



"I haven't had the chance to express all of this to them face to face, but I'm hoping for the chance to so I can say my peace and tell them how I feel and find out the outcome of all of this," said Larkin. "Hopefully I hear something while I'm out in Manchester. I know that Dana's going to be out here and hopefully we can have a talk and I'll be able to fly home with a little peace of mind."



In the unfortunate circumstance the two parties aren't able to come to an agreement, Larkin feels he has the attributes to get what he feels he deserves elsewhere.



"I don't want to seem cocky or arrogant, but I feel like no matter where I go, if it doesn't work out in the UFC, I'm pretty sure I'll have a home somewhere," said Larkin. "My style is fan friendly and I'm exciting. There was an offer before the Magny fight, but it was nowhere near for me to entertain it. It was really, really close to what I was already getting paid. To me, it was kind of like a slap in the face."



Larkin feels his tenure with the promotion since 2011 should count for something, certainly more than his most recent purse, which came in just under $80,000.



"I was at $78k ($39k to show and $39k to win) for my last fight," said Larkin. "For my first fight in Strikeforce, I was under a Zuffa contract, so right now I'm at 15 fights with Zuffa. If I fight again for them, that'll be my 16th fight so I've worked my way from $2k and $2k with them, so I've put in so much work to get to $39k and $39k. There comes a time in an athlete's head that you need to be paid. I'm not asking for crazy money. I'm not asking for millions or even hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars. I just want what I think I deserve."



However things play out, Larkin is content and prepared for fate to dictate his future and doesn't regret gambling on himself.



"In my mind, this is what I'm supposed to be doing, and however it goes I'll be one with myself with what I'm doing," said Larkin. "In a sense, there is no pressure for me right now because I've already rolled the dice. Coming up to the Magny fight, there was a lot on the line. That was my career on the line. That was the determining factor of like, you are going to push for what you want or you're going to have to shut up and take what you get. I would've had to shut up and take whatever they were going to give me had I lost.



"They gave you the fight, they gave you the chance to roll the dice and you messed up, but thankfully it ended up being a good situation for me. So now I feel like all the pressure off me is gone. The thing is I know what I can do in there, the fans know what I can do. I'm cool with how I feel right now. I'm not in the slightest bit worried about anything. I'm in a good situation."



By Chamatkar Sandhu