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Simon Marcus

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Simon Marcus
Born (1986-11-05) November 5, 1986 (age 40)
Canada
Occupation(s)Mixed martial artist, Muay Thai kickboxer
Years active2006–present
Known forTwo-time Glory Middleweight Champion, WPMF World Light Heavyweight Champion

Simon Marcus (born November 5, 1986), widely recognized by his nickname The One, is a Canadian athlete specializing in mixed martial arts and formerly competing in Muay Thai kickboxing. He fights primarily in the Light Heavyweight and Cruiserweight categories. Presently, Marcus is under contract with Unified MMA, having previously fought for Glory, where he captured the Glory Middleweight Championship twice. In 2012, he claimed the WPMF World Light Heavyweight title by overcoming Kaoklai Kaennorsing. His career highlights include multiple victories against Joe Schilling (twice) and Jason Wilnis (three times), as well as a triumph over Israel Adesanya, a former two-time UFC Middleweight Champion. From September 2014 until July 2021, Combat Press consistently ranked him among the world’s top ten middleweights.

Early life

Marcus, who is of Jamaican Canadian descent, experienced a turbulent adolescence but demonstrated strong athletic abilities. At age fifteen, he was expelled due to involvement in a fight. Subsequently, he discovered the Siam No.1 Muay Thai gym led by Ajahn Suchart Yodkerepauprai, where he began his initial training. After stepping away from Muay Thai for two years to pursue basketball and serving a three-month youth detention sentence, Marcus recommitted to Muay Thai with aspirations of turning professional.

Amateur career

Beginning his Muay Thai journey at sixteen, Marcus quickly achieved success by earning medals in three international competitions and securing the North American Cruiserweight Championship. His competitive debut came in 2006, followed by a gold medal at the 2007 IFMA World Championships (−81 kg/178 lb) and a silver medal in the subsequent year. In 2009, he won the WKA Amateur North American Cruiserweight title (−86 kg/189 lb) and then took gold at the World Combat Games 2010 in the −81 kg/178 lb Muaythai division after defeating Artem Vakhitov.

Turning professional

Marcus transitioned to professional status in 2007 but maintained amateur participation until 2011. During this period, he secured his initial pro titles in Thailand: the Thaphae Stadium Light Heavyweight championship and the Northern Thailand Cruiserweight belt. In 2010, he notched significant wins against notable fighters including Filip Verlinden, Kun Khmer legend Eh Phoutong, and Japanese Kyokushin practitioner Ryuta Noji. That year concluded with a first-round knockout of Chinese sanshou competitor Guo Hang Hang in Foshan, China; Marcus later won their rematch by decision in Hefei in June 2011.

A planned fight in 2011 against former Rajadamnern Stadium champion Kaoklai Kaennorsing in Anaheim was cancelled. Subsequently, Marcus signed with the Muaythai Premier League (MPL), making his debut with a unanimous decision victory over Artem Vakhitov at Muaythai Premier League: Round 1 held in Long Beach, California. Another anticipated matchup against L'houcine "Aussie" Ouzgni at MPL's Round 3 event in The Hague was called off after Ouzgni withdrew shortly before the fight.

Joe Schilling rivalry

In 2012, Simon Marcus broke into the top ten global rankings for middleweights for the first time, reaching number nine. On February 25th of that year, he faced Joe Schilling at Lion Fight Promotions: Battle in the Desert 5 in Las Vegas in a high-stakes contest where the entire purse was at stake for the winner. The bout ended controversially when Marcus caused Schilling to trip and sustain a head injury before dropping him with a left hook and finishing with a right elbow knockout. Schilling’s team appealed to the Nevada State Athletic Commission seeking to have the outcome overturned to a no contest; however, their appeal was denied.

Later that year on March 16th in Bangkok, Marcus earned his first opportunity to fight for a world title against Kaoklai Kaennorsing for the vacant WPMF World Light Heavyweight Championship (−79 kg/175 lb). Dominating throughout five rounds, Marcus secured a unanimous decision victory to claim his inaugural professional world title.

On April 21st, 2012, Marcus competed twice on the same evening during the Qianjiang World Muay Thai King Challenge held in Beijing, China—achieving a knockout win over Green Spangler followed by a decision victory against Li Shuai.

Due to lingering controversy from their initial encounter, Marcus and Schilling faced off again on May 12th at Lion Fight Muay Thai VI in Las Vegas for a WBC Muaythai World Light Heavyweight title eliminator bout. The closely fought match was ultimately decided by Marcus’ superior use of knees and clinch techniques, earning him a majority decision win.

Marcus vs. Levin

Marcus climbed to the #6 spot in the global rankings and was set to challenge Artem Levin—recognized as the premier light heavyweight kickboxer—for the WBC Muaythai World Light Heavyweight title at Battle for the Belts held in Bangkok on 9 June 2012. Nevertheless, Marcus withdrew for undisclosed reasons and was substituted by Joe Schilling; subsequently, Levin also pulled out.

The anticipated showdown between Levin and Marcus was rescheduled for The Battle of Champions 7: School vs. School in Moscow on 16 November 2012, contesting the vacant WMC World Light Heavyweight (−79 kg/175 lb) title, but this event was ultimately canceled.

Marcus concluded 2012 with a third-round elbow knockout against Sweden’s Sadibou Sy at Muay Thai in America: In Honor of the King in Los Angeles, completing an undefeated 6–0 streak for the year.

On 10 January 2013, Marcus achieved two knockouts in a single evening during the Foshan China vs. Thailand event, overcoming Arthit Hanchana and Wang Anying.

The long-awaited Marcus-Levin clash was scheduled multiple times—first for 21 December 2012 in Ekaterinburg, then postponed to 23 February 2013—before finally occurring on 15 March 2013 at Lion Fight 9 in Las Vegas, with the inaugural Lion Fight Light Heavyweight Championship at stake. Marcus earned a unanimous decision victory, utilizing his clinch expertise to cement his position as world #1.

Marcus had been slated to face Steven Wakeling under Oriental rules at Glory 5: London on 23 March 2013 but was replaced by Eddie Walker due to his recent bout with Levin.

A rematch against Levin for the WMC World Super-Light Heavyweight (-82.5 kg/182 lb) title was planned for Monte Carlo Fighting Masters 2014 on 14 June but was canceled to permit both fighters to participate in Glory 17: Los Angeles, scheduled a week later.

Fighting in China

On 27 April 2013, Marcus secured a split decision win over Dmitry Valent at C3: King of Fighters in Chengdu, China. He was initially booked to rematch Kaoklai Kaennorsing at Muaythai Superfight on 13 May 2013; however, after the event was postponed to 14 June, Kaoklai was replaced by Suriya Prasathinphimai. Marcus successfully defended his WPMF title by defeating Suriya through a unanimous decision.

At Push Kick Promotions: Muay Thai World Stand Off 5 in Las Vegas on 29 September 2013, Marcus fought to a contentious majority draw against Chidi Njokuani. Njokuani controlled the early rounds with superior footwork, while Marcus dominated during clinch exchanges. The match involved several illegal strikes and point deductions, resulting in a majority draw that led to post-fight disputes between Marcus and Njokuani’s team. On 25 October 2013, Marcus outpointed Jiang Chunpeng in Foshan, China.

In Buenos Aires on 15 December 2013 at Ultra Elite Fighters V: Argentina vs. The World, Marcus utilized elbows and knees to achieve a split decision victory over Damian Bujan despite frequent referee interruptions and a brief stoppage caused when both fighters fell through the ropes.

Originally scheduled to face Shifu Yanzi at Hero Legends in Jinan, China, on 3 December 2014, Marcus instead fought substitute Li Bei, winning by first-round TKO after scoring two knockdowns.

On 16 February 2014, Marcus claimed the -80 kg/176 lb tournament title at Wu Ling Feng: Kunlun Fight 2 in Zhengzhou, China. His semi-final bout against Israel Adesanya required an extension round following a draw in regulation time; Marcus prevailed via judges’ decision before stopping Vehas TopKing with a first-round knee strike to secure the championship.

Glory

It was revealed during the Glory 15: Istanbul event that Marcus would participate in the middleweight (-84.8 kg/187 lb) tournament at Glory 17: Los Angeles - Last Man Standing, held in Inglewood, California on 21 June 2014. In the quarter-finals, he faced Joe Schilling for their third encounter, managing to knock Schilling down in the second round and maintaining control throughout. The judges rendered a unanimous draw, prompting an extra round. During this extension, Marcus was penalized a point for repeatedly dropping his mouthguard. Needing a knockout to advance, he was caught by Schilling’s counter right cross, marking Marcus's first professional defeat.

At Glory 21: San Diego, Marcus contended with Artem Levin for the Glory Middleweight Title; the match concluded controversially in a draw. Their rematch at Glory 27: Chicago ended with Marcus winning by disqualification after Levin exited the ring mid-fight following referee intervention—an episode described as "one of the greatest embarrassments in Glory's history."

Marcus successfully defended his belt against Dustin Jacoby at Glory 34: Denver, achieving a TKO victory after delivering a kick that broke Jacoby’s arm. However, he lost his subsequent title defense in a rematch against Jason Wilnis by TKO in the third round. After securing TKO victories over Wang Shaohua and Jacoby, Marcus reclaimed the Middleweight Title by defeating Wilnis via split decision at Glory 40: Copenhagen.

In his initial defense during this second reign at Glory 46: China, Marcus relinquished the title to Alex Pereira through a unanimous decision. Following this loss, he recorded a swift TKO win over Zack Wells at Glory 52: Los Angeles and triumphed over Wilnis by split decision at Glory 56: Denver for their fourth meeting.

Marcus challenged Pereira once more for the Glory Middleweight title at Glory 58: Chicago, but Pereira retained the championship by unanimous decision, replicating their previous outcome.

Mixed martial arts

Simon entered professional MMA on 17 December 2021, facing Anton Tokarchuk at Unified MMA 42, one of Canada's premier MMA promotions. He secured victory via technical unanimous decision after Tokarchuk was unable to continue due to an eye poke.

Marcus was slated to compete against Dylan Schellenberg at United MMA 43 on 4 March 2022; however, the fight was canceled when Schellenberg withdrew for undisclosed reasons.

Kickboxing

Mixed Martial Arts Record

|- | |align=center| |Abdul Fayzi | |Unified MMA 63 | |align=center| |align=center| |Toronto, Ontario, Canada | |- |Victory |align=center|2–0 |Grady Behrens |Unanimous Decision |Unified MMA 57 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Toronto, Ontario, Canada | |- |Victory |align=center|1–0 |Anton Tokarchuk |Technical Unanimous Decision |Unified MMA 42 | |align=center|3 |align=center|1:02 |Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |

Kickboxing and Muay Thai Record

|- bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |2018-09-14|| Defeat ||align=left| Alex Pereira || Glory 58: Chicago || Chicago, United States || Unanimous Decision || 5 || 3:00 |- ! style=background:white colspan=9 | |- bgcolor="CCFFCC" |2018-08-10 || Victory||align=left| Jason Wilnis || Glory 56: Denver || Colorado || Split Decision || 3 || 3:00 |- bgcolor="CCFFCC" |2018-03-31 || Victory ||align=left| Zack Wells || 2018 in Glory#Glory 52: Los Angeles || Los Angeles, US || TKO (Referee Stoppage) || 1 || 1:03 |- bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |2017-10-14 || Defeat ||align=left| Alex Pereira || 2017 in Glory#Glory 46: China || Guangzhou, China|| Unanimous Decision || 5 || 3:00 |- ! style=background:white colspan=9 | |- bgcolor="CCFFCC" |2017-04-29 || Victory ||align=left| Jason Wilnis || 2017 in Glory#Glory 40: Copenhagen || Copenhagen, Denmark || Split Decision || 5 || 3:00 |- ! style=background:white colspan=9 | |- bgcolor="CCFFCC" |2016-12-23 || Victory ||align=left| Wang Shaohua || Wu Fight || Foshan, China || TKO (Injury) || 1 || |- bgcolor="CCFFCC" |2016-10-21 || Victory ||align=left| Dustin Jacoby || Glory 34: Denver || Broomfield, Colorado, US || TKO (Injury) || 2 || 0:01 |- bgcolor="#FFBBBB" |2016-09-09 || Defeat ||align=left| Jason Wilnis || Glory 33: New Jersey || Trenton, New Jersey, US || TKO (Referee Stoppage) || 3 || 1:14 |- ! style=background:white colspan=9 | |- bgcolor="CCFFCC" 

|2016-05-13|| Victory||align=left | Dustin Jacoby||Glory 30: Los Angeles||Ontario, California, US||Unanimous Decision||5||3:00

|- ! style=background:white colspan=9 | |- bgcolor="CCFFCC" 

|2016-02-26|| Victory||align=left | Artem Levin||Glory 27: Chicago||Hoffman Estates, Illinois, US||DQ (Forfeit)||3||2:55

|- ! style=background:white colspan=9 | |- bgcolor="#c5d2ea" 

|2015-05-08|| Draw||align=left | Artem Levin||Glory 21: San Diego||San Diego, California, US||Majority Decision||5||3:00

|- ! style=background:white colspan=9 | |- bgcolor="CCFFCC" 

|2015-04-03|| Victory||align=left | Jason Wilnis||Glory 20: Dubai - Middleweight Contender Tournament Final||Dubai, UAE||Split Decision||3||3:00

|- ! style=background:white colspan=9 | |- bgcolor="CCFFCC" 

|2015-04-03|| Victory||align=left | Wayne Barrett||Glory 20: Dubai - Middleweight Contender Tournament Semi Finals||Dubai, UAE||Unanimous Decision||3||3:00

|- bgcolor="FFBBBB" 

|2015-01-31|| Defeat||align=left | Fang Bian||Wu Lin Feng World Championship 2015||Chongqing, China||TKO (Referee Stoppage)||2||

|- bgcolor="CCFFCC" 

|2014-10-26|| Victory||align=left | Dmitry Valent||Kunlun Fight 12||Jianshui, China||Decision||5||3:00

|- ! style=background:white colspan=9 | |- bgcolor="#FFBBBB" 

|2014-06-21|| Defeat||align=left | Joe Schilling||Glory 17: Los Angeles - Middleweight Last Man Standing Tournament Quarter Finals||Inglewood, California, US||KO (Right Cross)||4||2:41

|- bgcolor="CCFFCC" 

|2014-02-16|| Victory||align=left | Wehaj Kingboxing||Kunlun Fight 2 Finals||Zhengzhou, China||KO (Knee to Body)||1||2:28

|- ! style=background:white colspan=9 | |- bgcolor="CCFFCC" 

|2014-02-16|| Victory||align=left | Israel Adesanya||Kunlun Fight 2 Semi Finals||Zhengzhou, China||Extra Round Decision||4||3:00

|- bgcolor="CCFFCC" 

|2014-01-03|| Victory||align=left | Li Bei||Hero Legends|||Jinan, China|||TKO (Left Jab)||1|||2:30

|- bgcolor="CCFFCC" 

|2013-12-15|||Victory|||align=left Damian Bujan|||Ultra Elite Fighters V|||Buenos Aires, Argentina|||Split Decision|||5|||3:00

|- bgcolor="CCFFCC" 

|2013-10-25|||Victory|||align=left Jiang Chunpeng|||Foshan Championships|||Foshan, China|||Decision|||5|||3:00

|- bgcolor="#c5d2ea" 

|2013-09-28|||Draw|||align=left Chidi Njokuani|||Push Kick Promotions Muay Thai World Stand Off 5|||Las Vegas, Nevada, US|||Majority Decision|||3|||3:00

|- bgcolor="CCFFCC" 

|2013-06-14|||Victory|||align=left Suriya Prasathinphimai|||Muaythai Superfight|||Pattaya, Thailand|||Unanimous Decision|||5|||3:00

|- ! style=background:white colspan=9 | |- bgcolor="CCFFCC" 

|2013-05-03|||Victory|||align=left Dmitry Valent|||C3 King of Fighters|||Chengdou, China|||Split Decision|||5|||3:00

|- ! style=background:white colspan=9 | |- bgcolor="CCFFCC" 

|2013-03-15|||Victory|||align=left Artem Levin|||Lion Fight 9|||Las Vegas, Nevada, US|||Unanimous Decision|||5|||3:00

|- ! style=background:white colspan=9 | |- bgcolor="CCFFCC" 

|2013-01-10|||Victory|||align=left Wang Anying|||Foshan China vs. Thailand|||Foshan, China|||KO (Right Knee to Body)||2||

|- bgcolor="CCFFCC" 

|2013-01-10|||Victory|||align=left Arthit Hanchana|||Foshan China vs. Thailand|||Foshan, China|||KO (Left Hook and Right Cross)||4||

|- bgcolor="CCFFCC" 

|2012-12-01|||Victory|||align=left Sadibou Sy|||Muay Thai in America Honor of the King|||Los Angeles, California, US|||KO (Left Elbow)||3||||1:07

|- bgcolor="#CCFFCC" 

|2012-05-12|||Victory|||align=left Joe Schilling|||Lion Fight Muay Thai VI|||Las Vegas, Nevada, US|||Majority Decision||||3:00

|- bgcolor="#CCFFCC" 

|2012-04-21|||Victory|||align=left Li Shuai and Green Spangler (TKO)||Qianjiang World Muay Thai King Challenge||||Chongqing, China||||Decision and TKO||||||

|- bgcolor="#CCFFCC" 

|2012-03-16||||Victory||||align=center Kaoklai Kaennorsing]||||Suk Wan Muaythai Naikhanomtom||||Bangkok, Thailand||||Unanimous Decision||||3:00

|- ! style=background:white colspan=9 | |- bgcolor="CCFFCC" 

|2012-02-25||||Victory||||Joe Schilling||||Lion Fight Promotions Battle in the Desert 5||||Las Vegas, Nevada, US||||KO (Right Elbow)||1||||2:50

|- bgcolor="CCFFCC" 

|2011-09-02||||Victory||||Artem Vakhitov||||Muaythai Premier League Round 1||||Long Beach, California, US||||Unanimous Decision||||3:00

|- bgcolor="CCFFCC" 

|2011-06-11||||Victory||||Guo Hang Hang||||Wushu vs. Muaythai||||Hefei, China||||Decision||||5||||3:00

|- bgcolor="CCFFCC" 

|2010-12-18||||Victory||||Guo Hang Hang||||Bruce Lee Birthday Celebration||||Foshan, China||||KO (Left Knee to Body)||1||

|- bgcolor="CCFFCC" 

|2010–09–25||||Victory||||Eh Phoutong||||Khmer Boxing CTN||||Cambodia||||Decision||||5||||3:00

|- bgcolor="CCFFCC" 

|2010–03–25||||Victory||||Ryuta Noji||||Planet Battle V Fast & Furious||||Wan Chai, Hong Kong||||Unanimous Decision||||3||||3:00

|- bgcolor="CCFFCC" 

|2009||||Victory||||Filip Verlinden||||||||||

|- bgcolor="CCFFCC" 

|2008–11–15||||Victory||||Aaron Meisner||||Shin Do Kumate XV||||Tampa, Florida, US||||TKO (Doctor Stoppage)||2||||3:00

|} Legend:

See also

References

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