This Friday sees Cat Zingano co-headline Bellator 293 versus Leah McCourt, an event taking place in Temecula, Calif. Ahead of the clash, Marcelo Golm, who will go up against Daniel James in the main event, stated his agreement with this line-up. Golm, who is a former UFC fighter, has had good success at Bellator since joining in 2021, having won both of his fights via stoppages. In an interview with Trocação Franca, he shared his view that he deserves to take the top billing over Zingano, despite her notable career fighting against Ronda Rousey and Amanda Nunes.

The 30-year-old argued, “the heavyweight division needs younger people, exciting people”, and stands by the belief that his fight “had to be the main event”. With 10 wins and three losses under his belt, and four wins since leaving the UFC in 2019, Golm is not taking the position for granted and is focused on performing to the best of his abilities on the one he has been given.

Golm is happy to concede that Linton Vassell should be lined up next for Ryan Bader, the reigning Bellator champion. Nevertheless, with a win against James, he anticipates that he will be just one win away from the prestigious title. “After one more fight, maybe against the No. 4 or No. 3 ranked guys, there’s nowhere else to go,” he said. Golm expects that Friday’s fight won’t come easy, labelling James “dangerous and hard hitter”, but expressed confidence nonetheless that he has everything it takes to pull off a win. Although he is not making plans to fight beyond James, he would welcome the option to serve as a back-up fighter at the rematch between Bader and Vassell, and is willing to fight on the same date to ensure his readiness for an opportunistic shot at the championship.