Simon Marcus isn’t a mixed martial arts champion yet, but he took one step closeer to that goal Friday.

At Unified MMA 42, Marcus (1-0) won his MMA debut when he defeated Anton Tokarchuk (4-6-1) via technical decision (20-18, 20-18, 20-18). The event took place at River Cree Casino in Enoch, Alberta, Canada.

Marcus, 35, fought at a 195-pound catchweight, a weight 25 pounds above his targeted division of welterweight. Despite a large size disadvantage, Marcus figured out a way to largely dominate the awkward and durable Tokarchuk for two rounds and some change.

Not only did Marcus show off his kicking abilities, he displayed the ability to control Tokarchuk on the ground, even if he wasn’t able to advance his position. Kicks to the legs and body visibly left their marks on the lengthy Tokarchuk, who continued to move forward until he was poked in the eye early in Round 3.

Upon examination by the cageside physician, Tokarchuk was declared unable to see and unable to continue. Since the fight was past the midway point, the bout went to the judges’ scorecards for a technical decision and Marcus was declared the winner.

Former GLORY Kickboxing champion Simon Marcus wins his MMA debut over Anton Tokarchuk (4-6) via technical decision (20-18 x 3) after an eye poke. #Unified42 pic.twitter.com/ssplN9bjiN

— Nolan King (@mma_kings) December 18, 2021

The win comes in Marcus’ first competition since 2018. After a failed entry into the world of boxing due to cancellations and lack of opportunities, Marcus began his MMA journey six months ago. Though he’s older than many pro debutants, Marcus told MMA Junkie before the fight that he plans on taking the fast-track to the UFC like his former kickboxing opponent Alex Perreira.

A former muay Thai and GLORY Kickboxing world champion, Marcus holds wins over MMA notables Israel Adesanya, Dustin Jacoby and Joe Schilling, among others. His combined record prior to Friday’s fight was 55-5-1.