Athletes
Francis Marshall Seeks Redemption Following First Professional Loss
Featherweight Francis Marshall Challenges Undefeated UFC Newcomer Isaac Dulgarian At UFC Fight Night: Luque vs Dos Anjos
UFC featherweight Francis Marshall signed with the promotion last August after making a great first impression in front of UFC President Dana White on the sixth season of the Contender Series.
In that fight, Marshall showed that his dominant wrestling worked against other UFC-ready talent. In his UFC debut against Marcelo Rojo, the 24-year-old was once again able to drag his opponent to the mat and end the first round in complete control.
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In the second round, however, Marshall shocked fans by landing a flush right hook, knocking Rojo out cold and improving his undefeated record to 6-0. The win secured Marshall’s first career knockout victory after finishing four of his previous five wins by rear naked choke.
The performance showed just how well rounded a martial artist Marshall is, even at such a young age. But his momentum would temporarily come to a halt in April, when he suffered his first professional defeat against William Gomis at UFC Fight Night: Pavlovich vs Blaydes. It wasn’t Marshall’s best performance, he’ll be the first one to admit it, and he only places the blame on himself for going off course from his coach’s direction.
Francis Marshall Delivers A Big KO In His UFC Debut | UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs Holland
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Francis Marshall Delivers A Big KO In His UFC Debut | UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs Holland
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“It sucked, but, at the end of the day, it’s just putting it on myself,” Marshall said regarding the loss. “It wasn’t anyone’s fault but my own. What happened in that fight, I could have easily won it if I stuck to the game plan that me and my coaches put together for that eight to 10 week [camp]. I fell off the gameplan the first two rounds and I lost the fight.
“I’m trying to put less stress and pressure on myself to win and be perfect. I want to come in here and fight my style, fight the way I [want to] fight and have more fun with it.”
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When he flew back home to his native New Jersey, Marshall knew he made costly mistakes in the fight, But rather than beating himself up over it, Marshall used the fight as a learning experience to trust his coach’s instincts and trust the game plan he and his team drilled for two months.
Marshall said the loss rewired his mind and that he’s entering his upcoming bout against Isaac Dulgarian at UFC Fight Night: Luque vs Dos Anjos with an entirely different mentality. Now without the pressure of an undefeated record tied to his name, Marshall believes all the nerves are shaken out, and he can finally settle into the Octagon and perform to the best of his abilities.
The undefeated Dulgarian makes his UFC debut this weekend, and poses the first grappling threat Marshall’s had to face in his pro career. Winning all five fights by finish, Dulgarian possesses the skills to either submit his opponent or ground-and-pound his way to victory once the fight hits the mat. For a dominant wrestler like Marshall, it’s an exciting challenge that will put all his skills to the test.
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“It’s my first time really fighting another wrestler or grappler,” Marshall said. “It’s pretty exciting. I’m always fighting strikers or kickboxers and stuff like that so it’s good to get another grappler in there and test my skills against his.
“He doesn’t have a lot of cage time because of his finishes but he’s 5-0, can finish quick, obviously dangerous, but a good wrestler, too. He wrestled D-2 [in college] and was second in the nation so I’m excited to see how I match up against him.”
While only being eight fights into his own career, Marshall believes Dulgarian’s lack of experience could play a role in the outcome of the fight. Having just made his UFC debut last December, Marshall knows how much pressure is involved in your first UFC fight week. However, Marshall says the one thing helping Dulgarian in this case is that the fight is taking place at the UFC APEX and not a large capacity arena.
"I think it definitely plays a factor, but I think it lessens it down at the APEX,” Marshall said. “You don’t have that big crowd with you. If you go to a big arena like Orlando like I did, there’s a little more nerves because you have 10,000 people [there] watching you. So, I think [having Octagon experience] helps me in a way since it’s his [debut], but you don’t know how he’s going to react to it.”
Marshall noted one other factor that could be Dulgarian’s downfall in this matchup: ring rust. Dulgarian hasn’t fought in over 18 months. Having to sit out roughly that long during the COVID-19 pandemic, Marshall knows how difficult it is to get back in the swing of things.
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“I think layoffs impact fighters a little bit,” Marshall said. “Just to get started again, get the range back, get the feel back. For me, personally, I think my longest layoff was during COVID around 16 months. Getting back into that first fight was stressful because you haven’t been in there in so long that you start getting the jitters. I think that could definitely play a role depending on who the person is, but it’s about how you channel that, bottle it up and move forward.”
Entering this matchup as the more seasoned UFC athlete, Marshall wants to stay calm and use his comfort in the Octagon to his advantage. For him, that starts backstage. During warmups and his walkout, Marshall wants to keep his emotions in control and save his energy for when it really matters.
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Having overthought fights in his past, Marshall believes that if he sticks to his game plan, a swift victory is sure to come.
“Calmness,” Marshall said regarding his prefight emotions. “Keep the energy up in the fight but calmness going in. Don’t get too worked up. Run out there, do my thing. Get a finish in hopefully one round, get in get out. I don’t get paid for overtime.
“After Saturday night, [fans] are going to think I’m back. A lot of people thought I fell off [after my last fight], thought I looked horrible. I’m not going to say I looked great; it was kind of a bad performance by me, but a lot of people are going to think I’m back and that I’m a future contender in this division.”
UFC Fight Night: Luque vs Dos Anjos took place live from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas on August 12, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
