Marcus: "It's no easy job to hold this belt - but I welcome all challeng...

Simon 'The One' Marcus (47-3-2, 26 KO's) came through a hard five-round fight with Jason 'Psycho' Wilnis (30-7-1, 8 KO's) on Saturday night to reclaim the GLORY middleweight title by way of a split-decision.

The GLORY 40 COPENHAGEN headliner was the third time the pair have met in the ring, with all three fights being under the GLORY banner. Marcus is now 2-1 up in their series but admits that the fight was a close one and the decision could have gone either way..

“I stayed steady, fought my heart out and believed in myself and it's a dream come true. I know I was controlling the earlier rounds, Jason picked it up and started landing some good shots. I was tempted to try and brawl with him a bit but I stayed smart, kept moving and using my kicks to score,” he says.

“I did what I had to do, I controlled the pace more and controlled the fight more. I know it was a close fight. I was confident I would get the win [when we went to the judges] but it was close... I think the judges saw my spirit, saw my skill, I think the judges saw the way that I controlled things. Jason hit me with some good shots but I was always able to get back in control of the fight.”

Marcus agrees that at least one more fight between him and Wilnis looks likely. In the meantime, he already knows who his next challenge will be: Youri Belgaroui, who won the Middleweight Contender Tournament in Copenhagen just before Marcus fought Wilnis.

“I didn't see his fight... but as world champion you take on all comers and GLORY in particular you are always faced with the toughest guys in the word. It is no easy job to hold this belt but I welcome them all,” says Marcus.

“It takes a lot to hold this belt so with that comes a lot of responsibility. It doesn't matter who steps up to the plate, I am the world champion and I defend it.”

A date and location for that fight will be announced very shortly. Next on the schedule for GLORY Kickboxing is a visit the Netherlands for GLORY 41 HOLLAND in the city of Den Bosch. Highlights of the stacked card features Rico Verhoeven against Ismael Lazaar and Robin van Roosmalen against Petchpanomrung.