After a series of opponents and dates fell through, former UFC heavyweight Marcelo Golm finally got to make his Bellator debut on Friday night.
He did so in style, finishing the unheralded Billy Swanson at Bellator 265 by first-round TKO.
Swanson may not be a household name, but the match-up can be forgiven, considering Linton Vassell, Steve Mowry, and Kelvin Tiller all pulled out of fights with the Brazilian.
“I feel great. I’m very happy,” Golm (9-3) said following the win. Speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press, the 28-year old credited Swanson for being a “real man with a big set of balls” for taking the fight on four days’ notice.
Golm doesn’t believe securing opponents will be a problem moving forward. And he’s still interested in fighting Steve Mowry. “The fight fell out, the reason we don’t know,” said Golm, adding that he has a lot of respect for Mowry, and that it’s the fight he wants next.
Then there’s old foe Tim Johnson, who will be fighting Fedor Emelianenko this fall. “It’s definitely something that’s on the list,” said Golm, adding that he wants the rematch, after Johnson defeated him via unanimous decision in the pair’s UFC days.
With Bellator rolling out their fall schedule, Marcelo Golm is hoping to stay busy moving forward. “If everything goes well, I want to fight twice more this year.”
Watch the full Bellator 265 post-fight press scrum with Marcelo Golm above.
