UFC ESPN 81 (Preview) Song vs. Simon
The UFC is heading back to the Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday April 29th for UFC on ESPN 81. The main event will be a high stakes fight in the bantamweight division between #8 Song Yadong and #10 Ricky Simon.
Song is trying to rebound from a TKO doctor stoppage loss in his last fight against Corey Sandhagen in September. The loss put an end to a three fight winning streak but was only his second loss in his last 13 fights. What did Song learn from the loss?
“Actually, I don’t learn a lot from that fight because I was cut early and it wasn’t my plan,” said Song. “My plan was to push him harder after the second round, but I got cut early in the second round, so I couldn’t take him down, couldn’t kick because I couldn’t see him.”
“A lot of people think the cut was bothering me, but my right eye was worse — the orbital bone was broken, so I could see three Cory’s in front of me. I had to cover my right eye and use my left eye; I could barely see.’
He concluded “Before the fifth round started, I told myself, ‘Protect yourself, protect your eye, and just keep going; this is your last chance to beat this guy.”
Song knows what he is up against in Simon. “I’ve definitely been watching his fights,” Song said of Simon, who sits at No. 10 in the rankings. “He fought with Urijah and (since) that fight, he’s been improving a lot. His striking is getting better and I think he’s stronger.
“He’s powerful and a very dangerous guy. Fighting him is not easy.”
How will Song defeat Simon? “He’s a wrestler — he likes to take people down — but his ground control is not that good,” he offered. “If he takes me down, I can get up, for sure.
“So I think (I just have to) give him some heavy punches, defend the takedown, or take him down. It’s just the details; I have tools to use against him.”
Song has key victories in his career over Marlon Moraes, Julio Arce, Casey Kenney and Marlon Vera. A win over Simon will put the 25-year-old back into the title conversation.
Simon has won five straight fights and most recently defeated Jack Shore by second round submission last July. The 30-year-old was once considered a top prospect at bantamweight but suffered two straight losses to Urijah Faber and Rob Font respectfully. Since then he has reminded everyone that he certainly is a title contender.
The 30-year-old knows that he faces a tough opponent on Saturday. “He’s a great fighter, explosive fighter, but I don’t think he mixes it up as well as I do,” Simon said. “I don’t think anyone in the bantamweight division mixes it up as well as I do. So I have plenty of confidence going into this one.”
Simon is not looking too far into the future and is focused on Song. “I haven’t put too much thought on who’s next, because I’m honed in right now,” Simon said. “I’m focused on beating up Song.”
Aside from Shore, Simon has key victories over Raphael Assuncao, Brian Kelleher, Ray Borg and Merab Dvalishvili. A win over Song will be the biggest of his career and will remind the bantamweight top 10 that Simon will not be forgotten again as a contender for the title.
The Rest of the Main Card:
Middleweight - Caio Borralho vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
Middleweight - Rodolfo Vieira vs. Cody Bundrage
Featherweight - Julian Erosa vs. Fernando Padilla
Heavyweight - Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs. Waldo Cortes - Acosta
Welterweight - Joshua Quinlan vs. Trey Waters
ESPN 2 Prelims:
Heavyweight - Martin Buday vs. Jake Collier
Flyweight - Cody Durden vs. Charles Johnson
Women’s Bantamweight - Stephanie Egger vs. Irina Alekseeva
Catchweight (140 lb) Journey Newsome vs. Marcus McGhee
Women’s Bantamweight - Hailey Cowan vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth
