Vancouver, Washington’s Ricky Simon to Fight For Titan UFC Bantamweight Title
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Thursday, February 04, 2016
David Golden of GoLocalPDX Partner Site Oregon Sports News
When you hold a title for Titan Fighting Championships (Titan FC), chances are you’re either on your way to signing with one of the big three MMA organizations or you have been with one already. Past Titan FC champions have competed in the UFC, Bellator, and World Series of Fighting in almost all cases. Now with Titan FC 37 just a month away, one of the Pacific Northwest’s most exciting prospects, Ricky Simon, gets his chance to take hold of the Titan FC bantamweight title.
Ricky Simon has been making progressive strides his entire professional career. Over a relatively short span of time (about two years as a pro), Simon has worked his way up the ranks aggressively. Having found his footing early on with Portland’s premier fight organization, Full Contact Fight Federation, Simon was quick to seek out greater challenges. He looked to King of the Cage to provide him his next step up in competition. Following a successful debut with King of the Cage, he quickly turned his sights on Tachi Palace Fights. Tachi Palace Fights has long been one of the top organizations for lower weight class fighters, and as a bantamweight, this was a great move for Simon. After a successful debut for Tachi Palace Fights Simon inked a deal with Titan FC.
To say Titan FC was another step up in competition for Simon is an understatement. At the time of his signing, former UFC fighters Pat Healy, Tim Elliott, and Kurt Holobaugh all held titles for the promotion. However, as he has done with every test he has faced thus far in his professional career, Ricky Simon was victorious in his promotional debut. Now he sits at 7-0 and his next challenge could literally change his life. Titan FC has an exclusive deal with UFC Fight Pass and that means someone at the UFC offices will be watching. A dominant win could most certainly be his ticket to the big show. Maybe that’s a bit of wishful thinking but in some ways it seems like the type of stride that would make perfect sense for Simon.
At Titan FC 37, Simon will be going up against one time titleholder Brett Johns. Johns was scheduled to make his first defense of the Titan FC bantamweight title at Titan FC 34, but he failed to make weight and was subsequently stripped of the title. Now Johns will have to fight once more to regain his belt. In Johns, Simon will be facing an experienced, well-rounded fighter. At 12-0, Johns brings a good deal of international experience with him into the cage as he is based out of Swansea, Wales in the UK. Johns in mostly known for his wrestling but he has proven he posses a solid submission game with half of his wins having come by submission. The one place there seems to be the biggest difference between the two fighters is in the power department. Simon truly looks the part of a powerful wrestler getting off the bus. He has a strong frame and his time in the gym is evident. Additionally, Simon has proven he has fight-ending power in his hands. Johns, on the other hand, is slighter in his build and forces decision victories more often than TKO finishes. With both fighters having heavy bases in wrestling I would assume those advantages would cancel each other out and fans will be treated to a standup war. Either in the clinch or the center of the cage it makes perfect sense to me that these two will battle it out on the feet.
Maybe this a bit of hometown bias, but I honestly believe that Ricky Simon will win this fight by TKO in round one. His power will not only help him impede the takedown attempts of Johns but will also force the former champ to fight defensively which should lead to a finish for the Vancouver, Washington resident. Ricky Simon is on his way to the top and to this point nothing has been able to slow him down. Now as he faces his stiffest test to date, Simon must be sure he has his feet firmly planted because what lies ahead could be the largest step up he has ever taken.
GoLocalPDX partner Oregon Sports News: Since 2011, Oregon Sports News has provided entertaining, hard-hitting local sports news & commentary every weekday. To read more from this author, check out Oregon Sports News by clicking here.
Related Slideshow: Oregon’s Most Devastating Sports Injuries
Here is GoLocalPDX's list of Oregon's most devastating injuries that have occured within the past 10 years.
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Greg Oden
Sept. 2007 — Micro fracture surgery on right knee
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Dec. 2011 — Arthroscopic surgery on right knee
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Nov. 2007 — Torn left ACL
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Brandon Roy
Sept. 2008 — Cartilage removed from left knee
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Nov. 2008 — Grade II separation of the acromioclavicular joint
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James Rodgers
Oct. 2009 — Torn left ACL
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Joel Pryzbilla
Dec. 2009 — Ruptured right patella tendon and dislocated patella
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LaMichael James
Oct. 2011 — Dislocated right elbow
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Nate Costa
Nov. 2010 —Torn Right ACL
After suffering a multitude of knee injuries throughout his career at Oregon Costa was forced to officially retire from football after tearing his ACL for the third time in agame against Washington. Although Costa's career was hobbled by injuries many of his teammates looked to him as their leader. Oregon's coaching staff referred to Costa as the "heart and soul" of the 2010 team that won the Rose Bowl.
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Sean Mannion
Oct. 2012 — Torn Left Meniscus
During the beginning of the 2012-2013 season, Sean Mannion was enjoying one of his best as a Beaver. Unfortunately, he tore his left meniscus against Washington State that resulted in him missing around half the season. With Mannion leading the way the Beavers had the Pac-12's fourth rated offense, averaging 459.5 yeards per game. With Mannion sidelined Cody Vaz became the starting quarterback
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Marcus Mariota
Oct. 2013 — Partial MCL Tear
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CJ McCollum
Oct. 2013 — Broken fifth Metatarsal In Left Foot
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Alex Morgan
Oct. 2013 — Stress reaction in talus bone
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Bralon Addison
April 2014 — Torn left ACL
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Ifo Ekpre-Olomu
Dec. 2014 — Torn ACL
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Wesley Matthews
March 2015 — Torn left achilles
Just 2 months before Matthews suffered a torn achilles he had become the Trailblazers' all-time leader in 3-point field goals made. It looked as though the Trailblazers were poised to make a deep playoff run. Things took a drastic turn when Matthews was lost for the season. With the team in a 0-2 hole against the Memphis Grizzlies it doesn't look as though they will be making it to the second round of the playoffs this year.
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