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 Word 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.
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