UFC bantamweight Ricky Simon returns to action Wednesday night, looking to snap a two-fight skid. His last outing, against Rob Font, was a Fight of the Night winner, and he’s landed a big name here again in former flyweight title challenger Ray Borg.
He’s missing a key feature Simon is usually sporting at his fights: his trademark mullet.
“It’s gone,” confirmed Simon. “I think after two straight losses, it kind of just fell off. Maybe after a good win streak, it’ll start peeking again. Maybe the hair on my neck will start growing again. But for now, I need a little bit of a change-up.”
Or, the more entertaining story: “I was just tired of sleeping on the couch. My wife wouldn’t let me in the room with a mullet. Cut it off, and I’m back in the bedroom.”
Simon seemed in good spirits heading into UFC Jacksonville, speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press in a virtual media scrum on Monday.
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic, he revealed, “didn’t really affect my approach at all. I’m always doing the right things in the gym.” Training partners were a bit trickier, however. “It’s been crazy times, it’s been hard to get the training in. But my cousin, Vince Morales, has been training with me. I also brought in Jose Johnson.”
“My mentality is still strong. I’ve never had this experience where I’m coming off two losses, but I’m coming off two losses against a Hall of Famer [Urijah Faber] and a top 10 guy [Font] in the world,” Simon noted. “I know where I belong, I’m just going to stay the course.”
And regardless of the pandemic, Simon feels he’s at the top of his game. “Even in the midst of this pandemic, I feel like you’re going to see the best Ricky that you’ve ever seen.”
Watch the full UFC Jacksonville virtual media scrum with Ricky Simon above!
