Marcus: “I’m going to get that belt back, starting with a win this Satur...

  Simon Marcus (47-4-2, 26) says there is “no doubt at all” in his mind that he will regain the middleweight title.    He holds the distinction of having owned the middleweight twice and would set a precedent if he claims it for a third time, becoming the first fighter to win a belt three times in a single GLORY weight division.   Marcus was due to take part in a Middleweight Contender Tournament at this Saturday’s GLORY 52 LOS ANGELES event but when that fell apart due to injuries, Marcus found himself matched with Colorado’s Zack Wells (5-0, 5 KO’s) instead.    “The title remains the goal and the road back to that title lies through my opponent this Saturday night. Zack Wells is a newer guy, he’s not a name that people will know as such, but that doesn’t mean he can be overlooked. Nobody can at this level,” he says.   “I feel like I have some advantages not only in my experience against the best in the world but also in the fact that I was preparing to fight in a tournament and now instead I will just be fighting in a single match. So I know the gas tank is more than there.”   Marcus last competed at GLORY 46 GUANGZHOU, where he lost the belt to Brazil’s Alex Pereira by unanimous decision after five rounds of fighting. Things went against Marcus fairly early in the fight and he found himself fighting a rearguard action for most of it.    According to him, most of his problems in that fight stemmed from sustaining a broken right foot after throwing a kick in the second round.    “I was in my corner after the second round and I looked down and I said to my corner ‘Hey I think my foot is bro-‘ and then I just looked away from it and shut up, just decided to ignore it,” he smiles. “But yeah, couldn’t move too well after that, or kick with it.”   Marcus has a champion’s mindset, in that he sees clear self-oriented reasons for his losses and doesn’t allow them to cause any question in his own mind about his status within his division.    “I still think I am the best in this division. That hasn’t changed. When I have lost fights, that’s because I haven’t been the best version of me, the true version of me, so I don’t see it as ‘me’ really losing, in that sense,” he says.   “Now the belt isn’t with me at the moment, but I still consider it my belt and I’m going to get it back.”   Marcus faces Wells in the co-headline fight of this Saturday’s GLORY 52 LOS ANGELES event, which airs live in the US on ESPN 3 from 8 p.m PT / 11 p.m ET