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No-shows UFC 303 opener
Simon lost to Vinicius Oliveira via unanimous decision (27-30, 27-30, 28-29) at UFC 303 on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
It's easy to envision Simon being handed his walking papers given how poor he looked in this fight. Entering as a -250 favorite, Ricky spent the entire 15 minutes serving as a punching bag for Oliveira. He fought with zero pace, and although Simon landed two takedowns, he did absolutely nothing with his positional advantage, allowing Oliveira to hop right back up. Simon won five in a row from May 2020 to July 2022, but has lost three in a row since. His time appears to be just about up.
It's easy to envision Simon being handed his walking papers given how poor he looked in this fight. Entering as a -250 favorite, Ricky spent the entire 15 minutes serving as a punching bag for Oliveira. He fought with zero pace, and although Simon landed two takedowns, he did absolutely nothing with his positional advantage, allowing Oliveira to hop right back up. Simon won five in a row from May 2020 to July 2022, but has lost three in a row since. His time appears to be just about up.
Facing Oliveira in June
Simon will face Vinicius Oliveira in a three-round bantamweight contest at UFC 303 on June 29 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, per MMAJunkie.USAToday.com.
ANALYSIS
Simon will face "Lok Dog" Oliveira coming off back-to-back losses to Yadong Song and Mario Bautista, respectively. Prior to these losses, the five-foot-six American had enjoyed a five-bout win streak dating back to May 2020. The younger Brazilian represents a tough challenge for Simon, with Oliveira and his knockout power heading into Vegas riding a three-fight win streak across promotions.
Simon will face "Lok Dog" Oliveira coming off back-to-back losses to Yadong Song and Mario Bautista, respectively. Prior to these losses, the five-foot-six American had enjoyed a five-bout win streak dating back to May 2020. The younger Brazilian represents a tough challenge for Simon, with Oliveira and his knockout power heading into Vegas riding a three-fight win streak across promotions.
Crushing defeat in Vegas
Simon lost to Mario Bautista via unanimous decision (27-30, 27-30, 28-29) at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
Simon was primed to make a move at 135 pounds as recently as last April. He had won five in a row before being dominated by Yadong Song in a lopsided main event loss. He had a chance to get back in the win column here against Bautista as a -180 favorite and simply wasn't able to put it all together. Ricky is known as a high-volume wrestler with excellent cardio, yet it was Mario that had the better gas tank. With the fight possibly in the balance in the closing minutes, Simon faded, while Bautista excelled. It's going to be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the 31-year-old Simon to overcome these back-to-back setbacks. There's simply too much depth and talent at bantamweight these days.
Simon was primed to make a move at 135 pounds as recently as last April. He had won five in a row before being dominated by Yadong Song in a lopsided main event loss. He had a chance to get back in the win column here against Bautista as a -180 favorite and simply wasn't able to put it all together. Ricky is known as a high-volume wrestler with excellent cardio, yet it was Mario that had the better gas tank. With the fight possibly in the balance in the closing minutes, Simon faded, while Bautista excelled. It's going to be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the 31-year-old Simon to overcome these back-to-back setbacks. There's simply too much depth and talent at bantamweight these days.
Scheduled to fight Bautista
Simon will compete against Mario Bautista in a bantamweight fight at UFC Vegas 83 on Jan. 13, according to Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
Simon will look to begin his 2024 on a positive note. The bantamweight logged only one fight during 2023, during which he was dominated for all but one of five rounds against Yadong Song.
Simon will look to begin his 2024 on a positive note. The bantamweight logged only one fight during 2023, during which he was dominated for all but one of five rounds against Yadong Song.
Dominated in main event loss
Simon lost to Yadong Song via TKO (punches) at 1:10 of Round 5 at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
The winner of five straight fights and competing in his first UFC main event, Simon appeared to be overwhelmed by the moment. The only round in which he hung around was the first. Song pulled away as the fight progressed, and by the time it was done, this one had deteriorated into a rout. Simon is extremely reliant on his wrestling and cardio for success. He landed just 2-of-9 takedowns in this one, good for 0:51 worth of control time. That's not going to get the job done against a high-level striker such as Song. This is a massive setback to Simon's chances of making a run in a loaded bantamweight division. Set to turn 31 years of age in late-August, Ricky's only truly notable UFC victory came over Merab Dvalishvili, and that was more than five years ago.
The winner of five straight fights and competing in his first UFC main event, Simon appeared to be overwhelmed by the moment. The only round in which he hung around was the first. Song pulled away as the fight progressed, and by the time it was done, this one had deteriorated into a rout. Simon is extremely reliant on his wrestling and cardio for success. He landed just 2-of-9 takedowns in this one, good for 0:51 worth of control time. That's not going to get the job done against a high-level striker such as Song. This is a massive setback to Simon's chances of making a run in a loaded bantamweight division. Set to turn 31 years of age in late-August, Ricky's only truly notable UFC victory came over Merab Dvalishvili, and that was more than five years ago.