Francis Marshall “changed my whole life” by pursuing a full-time fighting career

Francis Marshall is reaping the rewards of his hard work. Marshall faced Erik Silva in a featherweight bout on Saturday during the preliminaries of UFC Mexico at the Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico. Marshall justified his status as a heavy favorite by giving Silva a rear-naked choke in the very first round. Marshall revealed that while he originally planned to spend a little more time on his feet, his opponent’s wild haymakers fooled him. When Marshall heard his corner call for a double leg, he didn’t hesitate.

“I would have liked to stay on my feet a little bit more, but he threw some wild things at me that I didn’t really expect,” Marshall said in a post-fight interview with the UFC. “So safe bet, I heard the coach from the corner say, ‘Jab-double leg.’ I listened to what the coach said, jab-double leg, and from there I know my wrestling is at a very high level. So I was just able to secure the finish there.”

Single focus

Marshall (9-3) previously juggled fighting and working as a firefighter in Jersey City, New Jersey. ‘Fire’ has now quit his job as a firefighter and moved to Florida to train with the American Top Team. After coming out on the short end of a highly controversial decision against Mairon Santos last year, this win over Silva comes as a relief for Marshall.“It’s really satisfying to see that I’ve changed my whole life,” Marshall said. “I had a great job as a firefighter in Jersey City. I left that job, moved to Florida, started fighting full-time and made that my life and my career. So I put everything into it and to get these kinds of results, there’s really nothing better.”

Marshall is now 3-3 in the UFC after his 2022 debut.