Ricky Simon
USA
Facing Barcelos at UFC Vegas 111
Simon will fight against Raoni Barcelos at UFC Vegas 111 on Nov. 8, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
Simon is fresh off a unanimous victory at UFC Fight Night in Atlanta on June 14, defeating Cameron Smotherman to improve his professional record to 22-6. He'll face a touch challenge in Barcelos, who was truly impressive in a victory over former champ Cody Garbrandt, also at UFC Fight Night in Atlanta.
Simon is fresh off a unanimous victory at UFC Fight Night in Atlanta on June 14, defeating Cameron Smotherman to improve his professional record to 22-6. He'll face a touch challenge in Barcelos, who was truly impressive in a victory over former champ Cody Garbrandt, also at UFC Fight Night in Atlanta.
Fight Log
Loading Fight Log...
More Fantasy News
Grappling leads to easy win
Simon defeated Cameron Smotherman via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Atlanta.
ANALYSIS
Simon was prepping all camp long for what would have been a much stiffer test against Charles Jourdain (undisclosed), so it's no surprise he thrived when Smotherman agreed to step in on short notice. Ricky fired off 10 takedown attempts, landing three of them. He didn't do much on the feet, but the takedowns, combined with constantly pinning Smotherman along the fence, resulted in 9:13 worth of control time. That was more than enough to take the decision. Ricky has gotten things on track of late, winning back-to-back fights on the heels of a three-fight losing streak from April 2023 to June 2024.
Simon was prepping all camp long for what would have been a much stiffer test against Charles Jourdain (undisclosed), so it's no surprise he thrived when Smotherman agreed to step in on short notice. Ricky fired off 10 takedown attempts, landing three of them. He didn't do much on the feet, but the takedowns, combined with constantly pinning Smotherman along the fence, resulted in 9:13 worth of control time. That was more than enough to take the decision. Ricky has gotten things on track of late, winning back-to-back fights on the heels of a three-fight losing streak from April 2023 to June 2024.
Facing new opponent
Simon will face off against Cameron Smotherman at UFC Atlanta on June 14, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
Simon will now take on Cameron Smotherman this weekend following Charles Jourdain's (undisclosed) late withdrawal. Smotherman is coming off a loss against Serhiy Sidey just five weeks ago.
Simon will now take on Cameron Smotherman this weekend following Charles Jourdain's (undisclosed) late withdrawal. Smotherman is coming off a loss against Serhiy Sidey just five weeks ago.
Squares off with Jourdain
Simon will take on Charles Jourdain in a bantamweight bout at UFC Atlanta on June 14, per Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
Simon is coming off a crucial victory that snapped a four-fight losing streak for the bantamweight. He took care of Javid Basharat with a punch in Round 1 of a fight back in February. Now, it's important he builds off that momentum and begins to stack victories again, like he did from May of 2020 to July of 2022 when he won five straight UFC fights.
Simon is coming off a crucial victory that snapped a four-fight losing streak for the bantamweight. He took care of Javid Basharat with a punch in Round 1 of a fight back in February. Now, it's important he builds off that momentum and begins to stack victories again, like he did from May of 2020 to July of 2022 when he won five straight UFC fights.
Snaps three-fight losing streak
Simon defeated Javid Basharat via KO (punch) at 3:58 of Round 1 at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Seattle.
ANALYSIS
That effort will most definitely result in Simon earning a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus (later confirmed by UFC President Dana White). More importantly, he'll be able to keep his roster spot on the heels of three straight defeats. Ricky is known as an energetic wrestler with questionable power. He hadn't knocked anyone out since December 2021. That didn't stop him from uncorking a right hand that connected flush and ended the fight immediately. Simon's recent body of work suggests this isn't a sign of things to come, but he'll at least get another chance with the UFC following the upset win.
That effort will most definitely result in Simon earning a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus (later confirmed by UFC President Dana White). More importantly, he'll be able to keep his roster spot on the heels of three straight defeats. Ricky is known as an energetic wrestler with questionable power. He hadn't knocked anyone out since December 2021. That didn't stop him from uncorking a right hand that connected flush and ended the fight immediately. Simon's recent body of work suggests this isn't a sign of things to come, but he'll at least get another chance with the UFC following the upset win.
Faces another slumping fighter
Simon will take on Javid Basharat in a bantamweight matchup at UFC Seattle on Feb. 22, Alex Behunin of MMA Mania reports.
ANALYSIS
Despite some signature victories from earlier in his career, Simon's UFC roster spot is on thin ice following three consecutive defeats, most recently falling to Vincius Oliveira last June. He now draws Basharat, who hasn't competed since March and last saw a UFC victory in January of 2023. It may be a tough matchup for Simon, who relies on his takedown ability but faces a fighter in Basharat who defends them at a solid 85 percent clip.
Despite some signature victories from earlier in his career, Simon's UFC roster spot is on thin ice following three consecutive defeats, most recently falling to Vincius Oliveira last June. He now draws Basharat, who hasn't competed since March and last saw a UFC victory in January of 2023. It may be a tough matchup for Simon, who relies on his takedown ability but faces a fighter in Basharat who defends them at a solid 85 percent clip.