Bellator 109 video preview: Marshall says Shlemenko can’t ‘come to my country and hold on to my gold’

He’s had to sit back and wait for his title shot after an eye injury kept him out earlier this year, but now Doug Marshall believes his time has come tonight.

Marshall (18-6 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) challenges Alexander Shlemenko (48-7 MMA, 9-1 BMMA) for Bellator’s middleweight title on Friday at the promotion’s season-ending Bellator 109 event, which takes place at Sands Event Center in Bethlehem, Pa. The main card airs on Spike TV (9 p.m. ET) following prelims on Spike.com.

In one final lead-up video preview for the main event, Marshall, from California, says Shlemenko, from Russia, needn’t get too attached the Bellator 185-pound title.

“First of all, this is America,” Marshall says in the video. “You’re not gonna come to my country and hold on to my gold.”

Shlemenko is more than a 3-to-1 favorite in the fight and is coming off a title defense against Brett Cooper in September, a five-round unanimous decision. Cooper was moved into the title fight due to Marshall’s eye injury; Marshall knocked Cooper out to win the Season 8 tournament and advance to his shot at the belt.

Check out the video above, then don’t miss Bellator 109 tonight with more coverage at MMAjunkie.

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