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News / Sports

Vancouver’s Ricky Simon comes up short in UFC bout

By William Seekamp, Columbian staff writer
Published: April 29, 2023, 9:58pm

Vancouver’s Ricky Simon’s five-fight win streak came to an end Saturday night after a technical knockout loss to China’s Song Yadong at the start of the fifth round.

After dropping Simon with a left hook in the closeout of the fourth round, Song fired the same shot at the start of the fifth, knocking Simon down again. The fight squabbled on the ground for a few seconds with Song continuing to land shots before the referee stopped the fight.

Song kept the fight in his realm: Striking, using his speed, power and strong takedown defense to mostly nullify Simon’s, a state wrestling champion at Union High School in 2010, gritty ground game.

Both fighters are known for their pace and cardio, although the fight started slow before picking up in the second, most notably when their heads clashed followed by a flurry of punches from Song, seeming to wobble Simon before he scored a takedown taking the fight to the ground.

Originally scheduled as a typical three-round co-main event on the April 22 card, the fight was pushed back a week and made a five-round main event, Simon’s first in the UFC. Simon was a slight betting favorite heading into the fight.

Simon falls to 8-3 in the UFC, with one of those losses coming to Song’s teammate and former title challenger, Urijah Faber. Simon’s ranking, currently No. 10, could slip once the rankings are updated on Tuesday.

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Columbian staff writer