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UFC bantamweight Ricky Simón ended his three-fight losing streak in style with a ridiculous knockout at UFC Seattle.
Vancouver, WA native Ricky Simón entered arguably a ‘must-win’ situation at UFC Seattle. Just a few hours from his hometown, Simón earned one of the wildest wins of his career to snap a three-fight losing streak.
Simón entered UFC Seattle as a modest betting underdog against Javid Basharat on the prelims. But just a minute into the fight, Simón picked Basharat up and nearly completed a full body slam, imposing his will and putting Basharat in early trouble.
Basharat struggled with Simón’s pace and pressure in the opening round as the veteran utilized his well-rounded skillset to frustrate his opponent. It all came to an abrupt halt with about a minute left in Round 1.
Simón landed a beautifully-timed right hand that floored Basharat and knocked him out cold. The Climate Pledge Arena fans erupted in cheers as the Pacific Northwest standout earned one of the most important wins of his career in his home state.
Simón was desperate to get back into the win column after consecutive losses to Song Yadong, Mario Bautista, and Vinicius Oliveira. The finish was Simón’s first knockout victory since Dec. 2021.
Simón is still in his physical prime and could use his UFC Seattle performance to get back into bantamweight title contention. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum has had a streaky UFC tenure, featuring a five-fight winning streak and a three-fight losing streak.
Simón earned the LFA bantamweight title before making his UFC debut in April 2018. A split decision win on DWCS in 2017 wasn’t enough to immediately earn Simón a spot on the bantamweight roster.
RICKY SIMON KNOCKED HIM OUT COLD 😱 #UFCSEATTLE pic.twitter.com/KzRQESg8Qr
Simón’s performance wasn’t the only standout on the prelims at UFC Seattle. Austin Vanderford made the most of his long-awaited UFC debut by finishing his short-notice opponent.
Former Joaquin Buckley rival Nursulton Ruziboev also earned a statement knockout against a replacement opponent on the undercard.
Mansur Abdul-Malik showed why he was the biggest betting favorite at UFC Seattle with a come-from-behind win over Nick Klein. Abdul-Malik earned a contract on DWCS last year.
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UFC EVENT
Watch Ricky Simon obliterate Javid Basharat with nasty one-punch knockout at UFC Seattle
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Ricky Simon has his back against the wall, and he came out swinging — literally.
On Saturday night at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Simon squared off with Javid Basharat in a prelim bantamweight bout. On a three-fight losing streak heading into the fight, it was possibly do-or-die for Simon, and the Pacific Northwesterner did as well as possible, putting Basharat to sleep with one punch.
Early on, Simon tried to lean on his wresting, but Bashrat proved difficult to keep down. So, late in the first round, Simon changed tactics and leveled Basharat with a right hand that landed clean on the button and immediately turned Basharat’s lights out.
RICKY SIMON KNOCKED HIM OUT COLD #UFCSEATTLE pic.twitter.com/KzRQESg8Qr
Aside from being a Knockout of the Year contender for Simon, it also almost ensures he will remain in the UFC for the foreseeable future.
On the other hand, the loss is particularly tough for Basharat. Undefeated when he joined the UFC in 2022 and viewed by many as a rising star, “The Snow Leopard” has now lost back-to-back fights.
