After a fight with Linton Vassell fell through last month, Brazilian heavyweight Marcelo Golm finally makes his promotional debut at Bellator 265 this Friday.
Golm (8-3) competed under the UFC banner from 2017 to 2019, posting a 1-3 record before being released. Records can be deceiving: among his losses in that span are names like Arjan Bhullar, the current ONE heavyweight champion, and Tim Johnson, who recently fought for an interim heavyweight title in Bellator itself.
“A lot of things have changed,” said Golm in an exclusive interview with Cageside Press, when asked about his UFC run. The Brazilian added that he doesn’t believe that he “was really mentally prepared to be in the UFC at the time that I was, because I was very young. Now, my fight style is completely different, my training regimen is completely different, and I’m ready for whatever is coming my way.”
Among the changes, leaving his native Brazil and making the move to ATT in Florida. “Once I got to American Top Team, I started focusing on wrestling, which, that wasn’t even an area of focus I had before.” The best part of American Top Team, Golm continued, “is that there’s a whole bunch of champions. There’s a whole bunch of people there that are fighting that have more experience than I do.” The way knowledge is shared in the camp has “really helped my career,” the heavyweight stated.
“I’ve upped my game,” Golm said when his level of competition back in the UFC, higher than many give Golm credit for, was mentioned. He needed to up his game regardless. “Bellator, the way the promotion is, is shaping up to be just as tough as the UFC.”
Golm was originally expected to make his promotional debut with Bellator MMA last month, against Linton Vassell. The fight was pushed back when Vassell withdrew, and Golm was briefly paired up with Steve Mowry, before he too pulled out.
“After the second opponent change, I was training everything, I wasn’t focused on one specific area. I just trained everything so I could be ready for whoever Bellator threw at me,” said Golm, who also told us that there are no nerves ahead of this one. “After being in the UFC, it’s just another fight for me. Just another fight, and I’m ready.”
With Vassell and Mowry pulling out, Golm found himself paired up with PFL veteran Kelvin Tiller this Friday.
“He’s a tough guy. He’s been around. He’s a respectable opponent, but none of that matters when Friday comes, because he’s going to get knocked out,” Golm stated. And despite Tiller’s time away from the cage, being out since 2019, Golm isn’t expecting a rusty opponent.
Golm’s prediction for his fight against Tiller sounded confident. “Second round knockout.”
Fight week, the obvious happened: Tiller, too, withdrew from the fight. In his place will be Billy Swanson.
The Brazilian also gave another prediction, for old foe Tim Johnson against Fedor. That fight takes place later this year in Moscow, Russia. “I think [Johnson] is going to take the fight to the ground. It’s going to be a boring fight, and it’s going to go to the judges.”
Bellator 265 takes place Friday, August 20 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
