Ricky Simon heads UFC Vegas 72 this weekend opposite Song Yadong. He’s come a long way since he made his promotional debut by submitting Merab Dvalishvili at UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Lee in 2018.
Simon has steadily climbed the bantamweight ladder since defeating Dvalishvili five years ago. He stumbled briefly in back-to-back losses to Urijah Faber and Rob Font, but is currently in the midst of a five-fight winning streak that has etched his name in the top 10 of the division.
In Yadong, he faces a fighter that is a couple steps ahead of him and their respective runs to the title. He’s also facing a fighter that might be feeling a bit of desperation, as Yadong is coming off of a loss to Cory Sandhagen in his most recent bout.
An impressive victory over Yadong could easily catapult Simon ahead of his foe, but more importantly, entrench him in the upper echelon of the bantamweight contenders.
Before Simon squares off with Yadong in their UFC Vegas 72 headliner, take a look back at the start to his tenure in the Octagon, where he defeated Merab Dvalishvili, who currently No. 1 ranking in the UFC bantamweight division.
Sergei Pavlovich finishes Curtis Blaydes in the first
Ricky Simon vs. Merab Dvalishvili | UFC Free Fight
(Video courtesy of UFC)
UFC Vegas 72: Song Yadong vs. Ricky Simon
Saturday, April 29, 2023
UFC Apex
Las Vegas, Nevada
UFC Vegas 72 Main Card
- Main Event – Bantamweight: Song Yadong vs. Ricky SimΓ³n
- Middleweight: Caio Borralho vs. MichaΕ Oleksiejczuk
- Middleweight: Rodolfo Vieira vs. Cody Brundage
- Women’s Strawweight: Emily Ducote vs. Polyana Viana
- Heavyweight: Marcos RogΓ©rio de Lima vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta
- Welterweight: Joshua Quinlan vs. Ange Loosa
UFC Vegas 72 Preliminary Card
- Heavyweight: Martin Buday vs. Jake Collier
- Featherweight: Julian Erosa vs. Fernando Padilla
- Lightweight: Natan Levy vs. Pete Rodriguez
- Flyweight: Cody Durden vs. Charles Johnson
- Women’s Bantamweight: Stephanie Egger vs. Irina Alekseeva
- Bantamweight: Brian Kelleher vs. Journey Newson
- Women’s Bantamweight: Hailey Cowan vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth
Watch Ricky Simon best Merab Dvalishvili π UFC Fight Video
