Issue 182

September 2019

Ricky Simon, the mullet-sporting bantamweight, opens up about being a perfectionist and some serious sibling rivalry.

You are disappointed with yourself after every fight. Many fighters are perfectionists and are hard on themselves but what is the level of disappointment for you after each scrap?

I don’t know what it is. I know that I do it and I try not to let it affect me too much but there is always this immediate feeling of disappointment. The only things I can think about are things I did wrong or the things I could do better. I automatically get hit with that after a fight. I am always disappointed if I don’t get the finish.

That is stuff I recognize and that is just how I operate. That’s how I was growing up wrestling, too. That is the thing that makes me want to get back in the gym right away and start working again. It has definitely taken away from the night a few times, where I was too disappointed and not able to enjoy the win. I am learning to enjoy the wins.

Which fight from your own career are you most proud of to this point?

The Chico Camus fight sticks out a lot for me. That was a five-round world title fight in a pretty big organization outside of the UFC. It was against an eight time UFC vet, who I think did very well against the current bantamweight champion. That sticks out to me because there was a lot I overcame in my personal life – being a five round fight against a UFC vet and coming off the Contenders Series and not getting signed, there was a lot of stuff going on and I was proud of going five rounds with a vet and dominating in the fashion I did. That fight always sticks out to me.

What were the personal issues that you worked through leading up to that fight?

I was so close to being signed on Dana White’s Contender Series and it not happening coupled with the fact that I had a death in the family of someone who was very close to me, so that was the first time I’ve had to deal with a death like that. I used it in my training camp to fuel me. I definitely felt like it pushed me and I used it in the right way. Immediately after the fight I felt all of those emotions.

What was it like fighting on the Contender Series? You are fighting in front of your potential bosses and the area is so small and intimate. How did you handle it all?

It was awesome. You got a little bit of a taste of what it would be like. It was a lot of pressure, to be honest. I had a three-week notice fight. It was in the middle of the summer and I could get a fight. All of a sudden in three weeks I was going to be on Dana White Contender Series. I had to make the weight.

Then being in that environment also added a lot of pressure, being in front of the bosses knowing that you had to perform to get your opportunity. I felt like you have to throw caution to the wind in that situation and I’m not that kind of fighter.

I like to use a game plan and wear out my opponents, so for a little while it had me out of my game. Overall it was a pretty cool experience and not a bad paycheck if you are on the regional scene.

During one of your fights Pat Miletich said you fight with a certain spirit, if you will. Can you put a finger on that or know where that comes from?

Is he referring to me being an asshole when I fight? (Laughs) I get a little intense. I start screaming across the cage. If I see blood or if I am wearing blood on me it pumps me up. Honestly, I think it comes from growing up with all brothers. We beat the crap out of each other.

People always ask me how I got into the sport. I always pretend and say I have no idea. I have a brother who is seventeen months older than me, I am the second oldest then each brother is two years younger. We have four of them (brothers). We grew up beating the crap out of each other. If you wanted seconds you better be ready to fight for them.

Maybe that’s where it comes from. I have always been a little bit ornery. I have been told that my entire life. I am plenty nice outside of the fight game but once it comes to competing there is a little bit in me that just loves it. It’s nice to be locked in a cage and release a bit of that aggression and not get in trouble for it.

With all of those boys in one house there has to be a good brother fight story. What’s the best fight memory with you and your siblings?

I was five or six and my parents bought us boxing gloves and told us to hash it out before we went to them crying about anything. My older brother beat me up every time I tried to challenge him until like fifth or sixth grade. Then, one time in sixth grade, we put the gloves on and I dotted him up a bit and I could see the shift. The little brother is going to start to get some wins against the older brother. I tell him that all the time. That’s when I was able to start taking him down, too.

We both wrestled and I was a fat kid, so I was a weight class above him. I had a little more meat on my bones so I was able to bully him. There were definitely stories that got out of hand where furniture was broken but there are plenty of those stories.

We can’t get too deep into the conversation without talking about the mullet you sport. In your expert opinion, who rocks the best mullets of all time?

I stole the mullet from my coach, Ian Loveland. He rocked one when he fought. He had a mullet with some steps in it. Eddie Guerrero, I was hot on him as a kid. His mullet was pretty banging. Mike Pyle, Michael Chiesa, guys like that. I must try to do my part in having the next sexiest mullet out there.

Have you created some type of mullet movement?

Oh, it has begun. Every day I get messages of people rocking mullets. My barber says he has people coming in every day to get mullets done. I get IG messages of people rocking mullets. There is a mullet cult out here and I started the movement.

Who were your favorite fighters growing up?

Growing up it was definitely Diego Sanchez. I was pretty young when The Ultimate Fighter first started. That’s when Diego was the man. Especially coming from a Mexican household, any time there is a Mexican fighter coming up everyone in the house kind of gets together and supports him. It was Diego, plus his spirit, I feel like I have some of that spirit. It’s that crazy, ‘Let’s go!’ thing. I always felt like I had that and it resonated with me.

Randy Couture was also a big one for me. He was a local guy. I think I ran into him a few times when I was in elementary school. So, any time he was on a Pay Per View we were buying it for sure.