Athletes
Ricky Simon Is Living The Dream
Bantamweight Ricky Simon Kicks Off His 10th Year As A Professional Mixed Martial Artist Against Maurio Bautista In The Co-Main Event At UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs Walker 2
As an undefeated amateur fighter in 2013, Ricky Simon felt like his talent was on par with that of his teammates, many of whom were competing in the UFC at the time. That’s when he decided to take his career to the next level.
Nearly 10 years ago to the day, Simon competed in his first professional mixed martial arts bout. A decade later, Simon has 24 fights to his name, including 11 in the UFC. Having only signed with the promotion in 2018, Simon’s already fought the likes of Merab Dvalishvili, Urijah Faber, Song Yadong and Rob Font.
“It must’ve been when I was 19 years old,” said Simon, recounting when he first started to pursue MMA as a full-time career. “I was an undefeated amateur fighter and I had trained with a couple UFC fighters at the time, and I was like, ‘Wow, I’m really holding my own. Maybe I can do this, maybe I am cut out for this.’
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“It’s really cool to look back because it’s been a long journey. This month marks a decade of being a professional fighter. I was just that young buck and now I’m a 31-year-old top-ranked bantamweight in the UFC. Sometimes when I’m stressed out or had a tough practice, I take some deep breaths and I’m like, ‘You’re living your dream, let’s keep going.’”
Part of living your dream is enduring both the highs and lows along the path to get there. While Simon’s losses are few and far between, none may have stung harder than his most recent defeat inside the Octagon.
In April 2023, Simon suffered a fifth round TKO loss against Song in his first UFC main event. The loss snapped a five-fight win streak and kept Simon out of the bantamweight division’s Top 10.
“The recipe has been working besides a few details that we can always clean up on,” Simon said. “This is MMA. It’s the hardest sport in the world. There’s always something you can get better at… I have a great team at American Top Team Portland and Team Oyama, and we got back with the team and got back to work.
Fight By Fight Preview | UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs Walker 2
“I know I can come back from a loss. In 10 years, I have 20 wins and only four losses, so it’s just about getting back in there and getting back on track.”
This Saturday at UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs Walker 2, Simon can etch his name back in the win column against Mario Bautista at the UFC’s first event of 2024. Bautista has won each of his last five fights, including a first round submission win over Benito Lopez that earned him a Performance of the Night bonus. Despite the imposing win streak, Simon isn’t impressed by Bautista’s performances during that span.
Ricky Simon Submits Jack Shore With Arm Triangle | UFC Fight Night: Ortega vs Rodriguez
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Ricky Simon Submits Jack Shore With Arm Triangle | UFC Fight Night: Ortega vs Rodriguez
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“I think Mario’s a great fighter, but I think he hasn’t performed as good against lesser opponents,” Simon said. “I think I’ve had tougher competition and I’ve done better. He’s on a five-fight win streak and I’m gonna stop that and get back in the win column.
“I think I’m going to get my hand raised on Saturday because I think I’m better everywhere, I think I can control where the fight goes and I’m going to do that and do it dominantly.”
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Simon hopes a win on Saturday kicks off an active 2024 so he can be in title contention by year’s end. Simon, who watched the bantamweight title change hands in August when Sean O’Malley dethroned Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292, has never been more confident of achieving his dream of being a UFC champion.
“I’ve been chasing that title for a long time now,” Simon said. “Once I saw O’Malley become champ, I was like, ‘Wow, really anything in this world is possible,’ so, I’m going to keep pushing.”>
UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs Walker 2 took placelive from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas on January 13, 2024. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
