The Rhino Plans To Be a Super Fight League Cornerstone

Heading into his fight against Kyacey Uscola in September of 2010, former WEC light-heavyweight champion Doug “The Rhino” Marshall was on the cusp of possibly bringing his career back to old heights, when things took a detour for the worse.

As Marshall put it, “I made a 6-0 run at 185 pounds and I was thinking that if I beat Uscola it would open a door to get me back in the mainstream, on the radar, but I took that loss against him and it was back to the drawing board.”

A subsequent loss and win later, Marshall is looking to start off his 2012 with a bang when he makes a trip to New Delhi, India, as part of the fast-growing Super Fight League promotion on May 6.

“It’s a huge opportunity to go over to India to fight for the SFL and I’m stoked,” said Marshall. “I don’t mind fighting on a smaller showcase like at Tachi Palace Fights, but I don’t think it’s where The Rhino needs to be. The Rhino needs to be back up in the spotlight where he can shine, and I think this a step in the right direction.

“I want to make some noise in India and get the fans fired up and get them wanting more of the crazy, bald-headed, tattooed guy.”

At SFL 3, Marshall is scheduled to take on former Dream middleweight Zelg Galesic. While it may look like a close fight to some on paper, Marshall told MMAWeekly.com he doesn’t think so.

“I think he’s tough, but he ain’t tough enough,” said Marshall. “I think he’s had some really good match-ups in his favor, but I don’t think they’ve put him against someone who really wants to strike and stand and bang.

“I think it’s definitely going to be a fight that I can shine. Those fans in India aren’t going to be sitting down. It’s going to be like their seats are on fire because they’re going to be standing up the whole time thinking, ‘Damn, this guy here is going down!’”

As Marshall puts it, this isn’t a fight where he is going to waste time trying to analyze what his opponent is doing as much as he’s going in there to fight fast and hard from the start.

“I don’t give a (expletive) what he’s going to do,” said Marshall. “He needs to worry about what I’m going to do. I don’t fight not to lose; I fight to win. I let it all hang out.

“You’re never going to read a headline that says, ‘The Rhino’s fight was boring.’ It’s always going to be fireworks and always over in a hurry.”

Having been a big part of the WEC prior to its acquisition by Zuffa, Marshall feels he can do so again for the SFL and start a new chapter in his career, rather than bask in the past.

“Just because of what I’ve done in the past, doesn’t mean I get handed anything in the future,” he said. “You’re only as good as your last fight, that’s what people remember. So it’s time to show ‘em and get my name jingling in their brain again and get them thinking, ‘This guy is a beast!’

“I had a great run in the WEC and they gave me good times and I gave them good times, but it’s all in the past now. It’s time to find a new promotion that I can help and they can help me and we can build it all the way to the top.”