In so many ways, Simon isn’t the same fighter he was when he was stopped by the UFC Hall of Famer. The Pacific Northwest standout lost a Fight of the Night scrap to Rob Font in his next bout, but since then, it’s been all Ws, with his five-fight win streak including three finishes and back-to-back victories over Raphael Assuncao and the previously unbeaten Shore. In other words, in a stacked weight class, Simon is as close to an unstoppable train as there is at 135 pounds. Well, outside of Merab Dvalishvili, who owns a nine-fight winning streak. But then again, the last man to beat “The Machine” was Simon, who submitted the Georgian in a 2018 Fight of the Night.
Fight By Fight Preview | UFC Fight Night: Song vs Simon
“That was a great fight,” said Simon. “I don’t hear too many people still talking about it, but it was Fight of the Night, so other people must’ve agreed with me. You don’t get 50 grand for me liking it.”
No, you don’t. But what that fight did, in addition to putting some bonus money in his bank account, was mark him as a fighter to watch at bantamweight. Unfortunately, it’s taken a little while longer for him to get the rest of the MMA world on board, but he’s stayed patient, kept working and evolving, and let his fighting do the talking.