Ricky Simon shaved his mullet before UFC Jacksonville, but the skills remained as seven takedowns led him to victory against Ray Borg.
Bantamweight action on the UFC Jacksonville main card saw Ricky Simon, sans mullet, taking on Ray Borg.
Borg, a former flyweight title challenger who had long struggled with the cut to 125lbs, was on a two-fight win streak to start the night. Simon, meanwhile, was on the opposite trajectory, having lost two straight. The silver lining, those losses came to Hall of Famer Urijah Faber, and Rob Font, in a Fight of the Night effort.
Ricky Simon fired first with a leg kick and a right straight, followed by a heavy combination. Borg hit Simon with a counter right, then there was an exchange of punches in which both men landed huge shots. Simon ducked in and landed a takedown and Borg squirmed out and tried to get a takedown of his own. Simon defended well and turned that into a takeown, but Borg was able to get up again. Simon landed a strong punch that Borg answered with a combination. Borg rushed in, but Simon racked up a pair of takedowns in response, ending the round in side control.
Borg attempted a takedown early in the second round but was turned around and taken down. Borg’s combinations were coming in hard, but Simon was dictating where the fight took place. After a failed takedown effort from Simon, he kept pushing forward to grab a hold of Borg, then dragged him down to take his back. Borg rolled out, landed a huge right hand followed by a combination on a stagnant Simon.
🇲🇽Borg: "Come on, kid"
🇺🇸 Simon: "I'm older than you!"
Gotta love the audio from #UFCJAX! 😅 pic.twitter.com/qk4tAAMe2Y
— UFC (@ufc) May 14, 2020
Borg’s boxing looked as crisp as ever in the final round. His jab hit, as did several hooks to the body that he was hoping would add up before the fight came to an end. Simon rushed in and dragged Borg into side control. Borg allowed Simon to take his back, then reversed position. Simon refused to stay down, standing up and grabbing a single leg then slamming him down. Borg landed a head kick and another shot to the body. Simon came up short on a takedown, then they started to have some fun. Both men threw flying knees, with Simon landing and then asking, “Is that what you were looking for?” They started talking to each other while throwing down for the rest of the way.
Ricky Simon def. Ray Borg by Split Decision (29-28 x2 28-29)
