Simon Marcus has long held the nickname “The One.” that He was something special during his time in kickboxing, and if things go his way, that same reputation could carry over to the world of mixed martial arts.
Two and a half years after his successful mixed martial arts debut, Marcus (1-0) is finally healthy, injury-free and in good health at his gym, ready to take on the challenge for a second time when he competes at Unified MMA 57 in Toronto on Saturday.
“I'm getting back on track and I'm going to be back in the cage,” Marcus recently told MMA Junkie. “I was hoping to do some shows but I didn't have any good fights at the time. Plus, I had some physical health issues at the time, so I took my time to get back. Now I'm fully recovered and everything is good.”
Most of the MMA promotional coverage surrounding the 37-year-old Marcus has focused on him as a two-time GLORY kickboxing middleweight champion, having won a unanimous decision over Israel Adesanya in 2016.
Despite his age, Marcus is confident the UFC will take notice of him given his track record in mixed martial arts.
Now three years away from turning 40, Marcus said his body is holding up well. Sure, he's had injuries, but his response to them has proven effective: UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, whom Marcus defeated by unanimous decision in 2018, made his debut at 34, after all.
“I'd like to get a couple more fights under my belt, get used to the rules and hone my ground skills and wrestling, which is still developing,” Marcus said. “Obviously, I'm still learning. I haven't been doing it that long, but I've had pretty good results against opponents that have been doing it for a while.
“My thinking is that if I can get my wrestling and jiu-jitsu closer to the level of my Muay Thai and kickboxing, I'll have a real advantage wherever I go. Right now I'm still in the development stage. With a couple more fights and continuing to hone my skills, the possibilities are endless. Where I am at is where I think my biggest opportunities will be.”
Marcus' only MMA fight to date was a technical decision victory over Anton Tokarczuk in December 2021. The fight was 10 pounds heavier than Marcus' usual weight class during his kickboxing days, so there were a lot of elements he had to learn and adjust on the spot, but he still dominated for the most part and displayed a well-rounded attack, including grappling, which Marcus takes great pride in developing.
“I've been focusing on perfecting my craft and honing my grappling for the last few months of this camp and before that,” Marcus said. “I'm competing against really high-level guys. … I know I can compete against guys that have been doing martial arts for 15-20 years or more without getting submitted or smashed. I know I'm at a good level, and I am at that level now. I want to get to the point where I can overpower my opponents, just like I have in other martial arts.”
After nearly three more years of MMA training, Marcus aims to slowly move up to welterweight so he doesn't appear too big, and sees 2024 as a year of development and 2025 as a year to make international headlines again.
“I'm hoping to get at least one more fight this year before the year is over,” Marcus said. “After this fight I'm going to take some time off to rest up and spend time with my family, but if I can get one or two more fights in before the year is over that would be awesome. Next year I'm really going to go out there and be prepared and do the best I can next year.”
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