Bantamweight Ricky Simon thinks he’s right as he’s supposed to be in the main event of UFC Vegas 72 this Saturday – despite his week-long fight to headline the card as a main alternate.
“It feels right. I think that’s where I’m supposed to be,” Simon (20-3) told media at UFC Vegas 72 on Wednesday. “I’ve been with the UFC five years now, it’s taken It takes a little longer to get to this point, and it’s kinda funny what happened – the quick switch. But he seems right.”
Simon and Song Yadong got the nod, and two more rounds, replacing Arman Tsarukyan against Renato Moicano, who went down after Moicano’s knee injury. An extra week doesn’t seem like much for Simon given he’s been on the sidelines since July.
Simon would have liked to get back in action sooner after his last fight, which saw him become the first man to beat Welsh prospect Jack Shore last July. But, Simon added, “I only got one offer, and it was against Merab [Dvalishvili]Simon already holds the 2018 win over Dvalishvili; the Georgian’s success since then may have raised expectations for the rematch. But that was not the case, and instead Simon took a vacation with the family.
While there may be some skepticism about what he was doing wrong for not being pushed by the UFC sooner, Simon believes a big part of his inability to book a fight is his ranking. He currently sits at #10 in the bantamweight division.
“I’m ranked now. I want to move forward, so it’s kind of hard to get these guys to agree to fights. Everyone wants to fight forward,” Simon pointed out. “I know that’s part of it, but I definitely want to stay active.”
Watch the full 72 Days UFC Vegas media appearance by Ricky Simon above.