Ricky Simon: Confidence & Relief

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Despite a two-fight losing skid, Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight Ricky Simon never lost confidence in his abilities. However, as he prepared for his UFC Fight Night 171 bout with Ray Borg, he did have concerns about his job security. Now back in the win column, he has a level of relief to match his confidence, and is ready to start a new win streak.

“That’s the thing, the confidence never left [after back-to-back losses],” Simon told Sherdog. “I was worried. I was losing to really good talent, but if I dropped a third in a row, I could lose my job. You never know. I had so much momentum going into the UFC, and then in my first few fights. I was on one end of it where the highs are high. Then boom, two-fight losing streak and the lows are low. It just feels good to be back. The confidence never left; I’m going to keep doing what I do and I’m going to stay ready. You know, I wouldn’t mind going to fight island.”

In this conversation with Sherdog, Simon also spoke about training in California with Team Oyama for this bout and xpecting to have a notable strength advantage over Borg.