While the arrival of his daughter in November has kept him busy at home as of late — and added a new wrinkle to iron out when it comes to his training routine — Simon has been champing at the bit to get busy in a fight camp and make his return to the Octagon.
And he has some ideas on who he’d like to face first.
“O’Malley is the obvious fight I would like,” began Simon, who called out “Sugar Sean” again following his win over Shore in July before the Dana White’s Contender Series graduate went on to defeat former champ Petr Yan in October at UFC 280. “I’ve been calling for that fight for a while now, but I’m a realist and I know that he made that big jump to the No. 1 spot, so they’re probably looking for something different for him, but I would like to just keep moving up right behind him.
“A rematch with Merab (Dvalishvili), who is No. 3 in the world (would make sense),” he continued. “I have a win over him — I was his last loss — and I think that is a matchup they were interested in. We’re No. 1 and No. 2 for takedowns in the weight class, so it makes for a really fun fight, especially as a five-round main event. I think that’s great for Merab and I.”
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“That’d be a dream come true for me; I would love that,” he said excitedly. “But there are plenty of fights. I don’t think there are many guys in the Top 10 matched up right now, so I have options, but I would like to get something going.”
Whether a headlining assignment against “The Machine” comes together or not, Simon envisions competing three times in the year ahead.
“In my head, I see two fights and then I fight for the belt. Who knows — if I do get that fight with Merab next, I’m right there for the No. 1 contender fight, or depending on what happens in the division, I could be there after beating Merab.
“But that’s my goal: three fights in 2023 and I end the year as the bantamweight world champion.”
Making a run like that in a division as dangerous as bantamweight is difficult, and there are challenges at every turn, but the way Simon sees it, that will only make his success even sweeter.
“(Fighting in this division) is exciting, it’s scary, but it’s going to be so rewarding when I have that belt and I’m the best in the world in one of the toughest divisions in the world. I can’t wait!”