Justin Lawrence will not have to travel far to punch into work and get his hands dirty.
The Pacific, Missouri, native will oppose former Pancrase champion Isao Kobayashi in a preliminary featherweight battle at Bellator 157 on Friday at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, less than 30 miles from his hometown. Lawrence anticipates a firefight with the Japanese standout, and he looks forward to it.
“He’s a veteran, man. He really likes to fight,” he told Sherdog.com. “I think he’s going to want to try and bang. He’ll want to mix it up and I hope he’ll try to take me down, but I’m just excited to get in there and trade some punches with this guy.