Ricky Simon admitted, following his split-decision win over Ray Borg at UFC Jacksonville, that he was a little scared.
Not of the fight, mind you. Of the judges.
“I was scared there for a second,” Simon(16-3) told media outlets including Cageside Press during a virtual post-fight press scrum. “I had to look back on my coach like, ‘what the hell is about to happen?’ But it feels great. It feels great to be back in the win column.”
The win snapped a two-fight skid, though it’s worth noting the losses came opposite Hall of Famer Urijah Faber, and in a Fight of the Night against Rob Font.
Still, the lead-up to the scores being read was a nail-biter. And one judge arguably got it wrong. Every single media member scoring the fight, at least that went on record, scored the bout for Simon.
The now-mullet free fighter was asked what needs to be done to fix judging in MMA. A constant question, really.
“I don’t know. I don’t have the answers,” said Simon. “You guys are obviously more knowledgeable than the guys judging us. So that’s obviously a big problem. I’m always criticizing the judges. But you know, it’s tough. I don’t have the answers either, but something does need to change because that’s whack.”
Simon told Cageside Press that he credits time put in with Team Oyama in Calfornia, and his cousin Vince Morales, for helping him secure the win Wednesday. Asked if challenges like Faber, Font, and now former title-challenger Borg were something he sought out, Simon put it down his take-on-all-comers approach.
“I don’t say no,” he told us. “They call me for a fight, I just want to fight. I am a firm believer that I belong here. When I got into the UFC, I was 12 and 1, two time LFA world champion. There isn’t anyone in the division that I feel like I can’t compete against, I can’t beat so. So if they call me with a name, I’m going to say yes.”
