Marcelo Golm wants a fast track to the Bellator heavyweight championship after a disappointing UFC.
Golm was patient as a string of cancellations caused Bellator to delay his promotion in 2021,. However, they were able to make quick work of Billy Swanson last August. Set to face unbeaten Davion Franklin at Friday’s Bellator 283, he reflects on the winding road that led him to Bellator.
The Brazilian talent — who now trains with the likes of Junior dos Santos, Marcus Buchecha, Marcos Rogerio de Lima, Augusto Sakai and Klidson Abreu at American Top Team — is 3-0 since parting ways with the UFC. He only had two years of MMA experience and five fights under his belt when he joined the UFC in 2017, stopping Christian Colombo in just 47 seconds in his his debut, but wasn’t re-signed after dropping three straight to Timothy Johnson, Arjan Bhullar and Sergei Pavlovich.
“When you’re undefeated, make it to a big promotion and win a lot of money, that can get to your head,” Golm stated in an interview to MMA Fighting. Although I didn’t lose focus, or party too much, it wasn’t something that affected my mental health at that time. I couldn’t deal with the losses that came one after the other. Of course, I also fought hard guys. I’m not taking anything away from them, but you go to a dark place after your first loss. You never lost, and being in the UFC, you don’t know how to deal with that.
” I stopped after leaving the UFC. That gave me time to reflect and to see that all losses are inevitable. I’ve learned that losing is part of life. People will always lose in a sport like this that’s so unpredictable and dangerous. It will happen one day. What you can’t do is give up, keep your head down and think that it will define you as an athlete. No, it’s just part of the process.”
Nearly one year after his Bellator debut, Golm wants to be a force against Franklin in Tacoma (Wash.) to get himself into the title picture.
“I don’t think I’d go straight for the belt [next] because this is my second fight in Bellator,” Golm said, “But I do think they would definitely put me in an important fight so I can earn a title shot.”
Franklin is a former wrestler and football player. He has a 5-0 mark since February 2020.. His fights were all under the Bellator banner.
Golm stated that he understood why Bellator signed the Jackson-Wink athlete before the latter had even started his career in the sport. In his Instagram bio, Franklin already calls himself the Bellator heavyweight champion, and Golm wants to make him “pay” Friday.
“If you look at Bellator, the champion and the No. 2- and No. 3-ranked fighters are older,” he said. It’s a division with young fighters. He is talented and beats everyone, even Said [Sowma],, who trains alongside him. But he will not be a champion until I’m gone.
“He’s young, dangerous and quite explosive. Although almost all his fights are decided by knockout, there is a lot to his game. He’s also too open with the striking and has many holes. I respect him, he has power in his hands and is strong, but I see many holes in his game to get the knockout.”
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