"I wasn't trying to make him look stupid" - Ricky Simon responds to Michael Bisping's criticism

Ricky Simon has responded to Michael Bisping's criticism of the comments he made during his recent post-fight interview. The interaction came following the bantamweight's victory over Raphael Assuncao at UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Daukaus last month.

In the post-fight octagon interview, Bisping suggested that Assuncao was the first ranked opponent Simon had defeated. The 29-year-old was quick to correct the former middleweight champion as he defeated Rani Yahya when the Brazilian was ranked No.15.

Check out the full exchange below:

Michael Bisping later reacted to Ricky Simon's comments, stating the following in a Q&A on his YouTube channel:

"He goes, 'I've beaten ranked guys before.' I said, 'Well you definitely weren't ranked,' because he wasn't ranked. There's absolutely no need... He's trying to make me look silly. Trying to make me look silly and I'm literally relaying the information I was told to say. So how about you direct your venom at him and tell him not to be such a little s***. How about that?"

Check out Bisping's remarks in the video below:

In a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Ricky Simon discussed the situation. The No.13-ranked UFC bantamweight had the following to say on the matter:

"I felt that it was a little awkward in the cage. I felt that moment was a little awkward but like you said, I was laughing about it. I wasn't doing it maliciously, I wasn't trying to make him look stupid, I was just cracking with the facts. So, I mean, even if I did feel that way going into the back, like, I did feel, 'Oh, it was awkward,' I didn't feel in the wrong."

Catch MMA Fighting's interview with Ricky Simon below:

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Ricky Simon calls for a fight with Sean O'Malley next

Following his highlight-reel finish of Raphael Assuncao, Ricky Simon did call out another fighter who recently entered the bantamweight top 15, Sean O'Malley.

'Sugar' recently entered the rankings following his KO victory over Raulian Paiva at UFC 269, the final pay-per-view of 2021.

Sean O'Malley is arguably one of the biggest names on the UFC roster right now. 'Sugar' did previously call for a fight with Simon after Luis Smolka dropped out of their scheduled bout at UFC 264.

In the end, O'Malley faced and defeated promotional newcomer Kris Moutinho. The performance saw the 27-year-old break striking records in front of a sold-out crowd in Las Vegas.