Tag: Ricky Simon

Ricky Simon: I Doubt Sean O’Malley Wants To Fight Me

Ranked bantamweight Ricky Simon thinks Sean O’Malley doesn’t want to face him despite a recent call-out.

Simon has expressed interest before in facing O’Malley. He likes the idea of the matchup, as “people want to see him tested against a wrestler,…

Sean O'Malley Ricky Simon

Ranked bantamweight Ricky Simon thinks Sean O’Malley doesn’t want to face him despite a recent call-out.

Simon has expressed interest before in facing O’Malley. He likes the idea of the matchup, as “people want to see him tested against a wrestler,” and he also believes he has the striking to go along with it.

With that being said, Simon has given up hope on getting a fight against O’Malley. In a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Simon was asked how good of a chance he thought he has of getting a fight against O’Malley. Here’s how he responded.

“I don’t think there’s a very good chance … I don’t think he wants to fight. I said his name after the interview, said everything, then he goes and tweets to [Adrian] Yanez. So I’m moving on.”

Simon Doesn’t Understand Why O’Malley Got Ranked Over Him

Ricky Simon
Image Credit: Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Simon has previously been interested in fighting O’Malley. When the bantamweight star lost his original opponent for UFC 264, there was a brief moment in time where Simon was seemingly being lined up as the short-notice opponent. That matchup ended up not coming to fruition.

Simon is currently sitting right next to O’Malley on UFC’s official rankings, giving further justification for booking the two. However, this ranking puzzles Simon, who doesn’t understand why the rankings are that way.

Simon expected his recent victory over Raphael Assuncao to make him enter the rankings at #12. But in the end, it was O’Malley who took that spot, leaving Simon down at rank #13.

“I beat the #12-ranked guy in the world and they moved him to #12 … I know there’s a lot that kind of goes into [the rankings], but it just feels like someone was messing with me at that point,” he said.

Are you be interested in a hypothetical fight between Ricky Simon and Sean O’Malley?

Continue Reading Ricky Simon: I Doubt Sean O’Malley Wants To Fight Me at MMA News.

Ricky Simon Reacts To Michael Bisping Interview Criticism

UFC bantamweight Ricky Simon has responded to Michael Bisping calling him a ‘little s**t’ after their uncomfortable UFC Vegas 45 interview.

Simon most recently earned a big win over bantamweight veteran Raphael Assuncao at UFC Vegas 45, knocking hi…

Ricky Simon, Michael Bisping

UFC bantamweight Ricky Simon has responded to Michael Bisping calling him a ‘little s**t’ after their uncomfortable UFC Vegas 45 interview.

Simon most recently earned a big win over bantamweight veteran Raphael Assuncao at UFC Vegas 45, knocking him out in the second round. After the bout, Bisping falsely stated that this was Simon’s first win over a ranked opponent, which seemed to irk Simon.

Bisping appeared to set up Simon for another callout of Sean O’Malley after the two had exchanged words and expressed interest in a fight in the past. While Simon ended up calling out O’Malley, the setup didn’t go as planned.

In a recent YouTube Q+A, Bisping explained his interview with Simon.

“He goes, ‘I’ve beaten ranked guys before,’” Bisping said. “I said, ‘Well, you definitely weren’t ranked,’ because he wasn’t ranked. He was trying to make me look silly. I’m literally relaying the information that I was told to say [by the producer].

“So how about you direct your venom at him and tell him not to be such a little sh*t.”

Bisping’s response raised eyebrows on social media, with many feeling that he didn’t take responsibility for the minor blunder. During a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Simon reacted to Bisping’s latest comments regarding their awkward post-fight encounter.

Ricky Simon Responds To Michael Bisping’s ‘Little S**t’ Comment

“Maybe he didn’t want to be corrected,” Simon said. “I mean, is there a rule that I’m not allowed to correct him on-air or something? I don’t know if there is, maybe I should’ve said something after, but this is my life. This is what I put everything into. Everything that I do is to wake up in the morning and get better at this specific sport.

“And I have the receipts: I’ve fought a ranked guy before. I beat a ranked guy. I was ranked before. I just thought that I would clear that up.”

Simon has now won four-straight fights and is quickly rising in the stacked bantamweight division. Following back-to-back losses to Rob Font and Urijah Faber, he has rebounded nicely and appears set to possibly earn a big-name opponent for his next fight.

There were plenty of off-kilter post-fight interviews in the UFC in 2021, but Simon and Bisping’s odd moment is probably near the top of the list. Regardless, it’ll be interesting to see if Simon and Bisping bury the hatchet at some point.

What was your reaction to the awkward Ricky Simon/Michael Bisping interview?

Continue Reading Ricky Simon Reacts To Michael Bisping Interview Criticism at MMA News.

Ricky Simon Reacts To Michael Bisping Interview Criticism

UFC bantamweight Ricky Simon has responded to Michael Bisping calling him a ‘little s**t’ after their uncomfortable UFC Vegas 45 interview.

Simon most recently earned a big win over bantamweight veteran Raphael Assuncao at UFC Vegas 45, knocking hi…

Ricky Simon, Michael Bisping

UFC bantamweight Ricky Simon has responded to Michael Bisping calling him a ‘little s**t’ after their uncomfortable UFC Vegas 45 interview.

Simon most recently earned a big win over bantamweight veteran Raphael Assuncao at UFC Vegas 45, knocking him out in the second round. After the bout, Bisping falsely stated that this was Simon’s first win over a ranked opponent, which seemed to irk Simon.

Bisping appeared to set up Simon for another callout of Sean O’Malley after the two had exchanged words and expressed interest in a fight in the past. While Simon ended up calling out O’Malley, the setup didn’t go as planned.

In a recent YouTube Q+A, Bisping explained his interview with Simon.

“He goes, ‘I’ve beaten ranked guys before,’” Bisping said. “I said, ‘Well, you definitely weren’t ranked,’ because he wasn’t ranked. He was trying to make me look silly. I’m literally relaying the information that I was told to say [by the producer].

“So how about you direct your venom at him and tell him not to be such a little sh*t.”

Bisping’s response raised eyebrows on social media, with many feeling that he didn’t take responsibility for the minor blunder. During a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Simon reacted to Bisping’s latest comments regarding their awkward post-fight encounter.

Ricky Simon Responds To Michael Bisping’s ‘Little S**t’ Comment

“Maybe he didn’t want to be corrected,” Simon said. “I mean, is there a rule that I’m not allowed to correct him on-air or something? I don’t know if there is, maybe I should’ve said something after, but this is my life. This is what I put everything into. Everything that I do is to wake up in the morning and get better at this specific sport.

“And I have the receipts: I’ve fought a ranked guy before. I beat a ranked guy. I was ranked before. I just thought that I would clear that up.”

Simon has now won four-straight fights and is quickly rising in the stacked bantamweight division. Following back-to-back losses to Rob Font and Urijah Faber, he has rebounded nicely and appears set to possibly earn a big-name opponent for his next fight.

There were plenty of off-kilter post-fight interviews in the UFC in 2021, but Simon and Bisping’s odd moment is probably near the top of the list. Regardless, it’ll be interesting to see if Simon and Bisping bury the hatchet at some point.

What was your reaction to the awkward Ricky Simon/Michael Bisping interview?

Continue Reading Ricky Simon Reacts To Michael Bisping Interview Criticism at MMA News.

Ricky Simon Starches Raphael Assuncao With Second Round KO – UFC Vegas 45

Ricky SimonUFC bantamweight contender, Ricky Simon is sure to re-enter the top-15 next week off the back of his main card win over Raphael Assuncao — sleeping the Brazilian with a well-placed overhand right and follow up strikes at UFC Vegas 45. Simon, who moves to 19-3 as a professional with the win, also scores the […]

Ricky Simon

UFC bantamweight contender, Ricky Simon is sure to re-enter the top-15 next week off the back of his main card win over Raphael Assuncao — sleeping the Brazilian with a well-placed overhand right and follow up strikes at UFC Vegas 45.

Simon, who moves to 19-3 as a professional with the win, also scores the fourth consecutive win of his career, laying out Assuncao with a massive second round knockout.

Pressing the Brazilian to the fence with just over two minutes elapsed in the second frame, Simon then launched a huge overhand right shot, dropping Assuncao before following up with an uppercut ground strike as the latter attempted to recover, rendering him unconscious.

Check out the highlights from Ricky Simon’s knockout win over Raphael Assuncao, below.

Sean O’Malley Defends UFC 264 Opponent: ‘He’s Not Just A Scrub’

Sean O'MalleyAfter a staph infection forced Hawaii’s Louis Smolka [17-7-0] out, the search began to find a short-notice replacement for 135lb showman, ‘Suga’ Sean O’Malley [13-1-0] at July 10th’s UFC 264. The bright spark, O’Malley, is said to have had a number of contenders chomping at the bit for the chance to face off against the […]

Sean O'Malley

After a staph infection forced Hawaii’s Louis Smolka [17-7-0] out, the search began to find a short-notice replacement for 135lb showman, ‘Suga’ Sean O’Malley [13-1-0] at July 10th’s UFC 264.

The bright spark, O’Malley, is said to have had a number of contenders chomping at the bit for the chance to face off against the high-profile fighter. Yet many fans arched their eyebrows following the announcement that the little-known Kris Moutinho [9-4-0] would be squaring off with Suga, in his debut for the promotion. Better still, the clash serves as a tasty hors d’oeuvre to the McGregor vs Poirier III main meal at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, live on PPV. Quite the induction for the 5’7” Moutinho.

The initial frontrunner to face ‘Suga’ was Vancouver, Washington native, Ricky Simón but that bout fell out of bed when the American Top Team Portland alumni was unable to make the 135lb bantamweight cut-off. 

“They sent me a list of a couple of guys, Simón being one of them,” O’Malley told MMAJunkie I told them, ‘I want to stay on the card. I’ve had a great camp and my weight is trending towards a bantamweight fight. Find me someone that can make ’35.’ They sent me a list of names, Simón was the toughest one on there and I picked him. They called me and said, ‘He can’t make weight.’ I don’t know if it was a miscommunication that they put his name in there, for ’45. I told the UFC, I was pretty clear that I want to fight at ’35. So, I dunno. There’s a lot of people on Twitter that called me out that weren’t on that list. I’m just happy I’m on the card at ’35.” 

O’Malley comes in as a -900 favourite for the bout. Yet, despite the criticism from the fans, the Montana Maverick remains wary that Moutinho isn’t getting the props he merits. 

“A lot of people think it’s a lose-lose for me. I make a lot of money to go out there and knock the guy (out). This guy’s tough. I watched one of his fights this morning and he’s not just a scrub, he’s not a nobody. Well, he is kind of a nobody because no one really knows who he is. But to be fair, not a lot of people know who Simón is, really. He’s beat a couple dudes in the UFC. I couldn’t tell you how many fights he’s had in the UFC. So he comes in there, he shocks the world, it’s a huge fight for him. Props to him for stepping up to take it.”

While there’s evident respect for the skills of Moutinho, the 5’11’’ KO specialist, O’Malley, will still be looking to sizzle in Sin City.

“He might go in there thinking it’s a win-win for him. He goes out there and loses, he’s in the UFC. But I don’t just knock people out. I change people’s careers. Mentally, the way I knock people out, they step into that cage and they’re different the next time they get out there. So it could be the beginning of his career or it could be the end of his career. So, we’ll see.”

Do you expect Sean O’Malley to get the win at UFC 264?

Ricky Simon Roasts Sean O’Malley after UFC 264 Short-Notice Fight Snub

Ricky SimonUFC bantamweight Sean O’Malley finally has a new opponent for his upcoming main card bout at UFC 264, and fellow bantamweight Ricky Simon is not happy that he was passed up for the short-notice fight. O’Malley was originally supposed to fight Louis Smolka at UFC 264 before Smolka had to withdraw from the bout due […]

Ricky Simon

UFC bantamweight Sean O’Malley finally has a new opponent for his upcoming main card bout at UFC 264, and fellow bantamweight Ricky Simon is not happy that he was passed up for the short-notice fight.

O’Malley was originally supposed to fight Louis Smolka at UFC 264 before Smolka had to withdraw from the bout due to an undisclosed injury. Just hours after the news broke, a plethora of UFC fighters put their names in the hat to fight against O’Malley, one of UFC’s biggest rising stars.

Simon was one of the first who made his voice heard in regards to his interest to fight O’Malley. According to O’Malley, the two sides agreed to the bout but Simon allegedly declined to fight him because he didn’t want to cut all the way down to 135 pounds on two weeks notice.

Shortly after O’Malley was paired up with Kris Moutinho for the upcoming pay-per-view, Simon expressed his frustration over the matter.

“Smart move, control the narrative,” Simon tweeted. “Pretend to accept so it doesn’t look as bad when you get a lesser opponent. I’ve been tested, I’ll be around.”

A fight between O’Malley and Simon would’ve been highly entertaining due to Simon’s name value as a veteran in the bantamweight division, and O’Malley rising stock in the UFC. Ultimately, the promotion opted to go with with Moutinho, who will make his UFC debut after fighting in smaller promotions such as CES and CFFC.

O’Malley is coming off of his win over Thomas Almeida earlier this year at UFC 260. Before that, he had suffered his first loss in the UFC to Marlon Vera after winning his first four bouts on the sport’s biggest stage.

Simon has won three in a row in the UFC’s bantamweight and featherweight divisions, the latest coming against Brian Kelleher in a featherweight bout at UFC 258.

Do you think a fight between Sean O’Malley and Ricky Simon would’ve been an entertaining fight?