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In an exciting bantamweight clash, Ricky Simon picked up an impressive split decision victory against Ray Borg at UFC Fight Night Jacksonville. Simon, who holds a 4-2 record in the UFC, managed to mix up his stand up as well as grappling game to his advantage.
The judges at Octagonside scored the contest 29-28, 28-29 and 29-28 in favor of Simon. The fight turned out to be a very engaging one as the fighters were seen indulging in a bit of verbal banter throughout the three-round bout.
Simon's well-rounded striking and grappling game was too much for Borg to handle
The fight kicked off in blistering pace, with Simon proving to be the aggressor in the initial exchanges courtesy a well rounded striking and grappling game that seemed to cause Borg a fair bit of trouble. Although Borg showed great resilience, he was unable to withstand the pressure from Simon in the early exchanges.
In the second round, Simon looked like he hadn't skipped a beat, taking the fight to Borg. Borg retaliated this time around, landing some heavy shots on his counterpart. However, even though Borg connected with meatier strikes, Simon outnumbered him by a fair margin. Simon's well-rounded gameplan often proved too much for Borg to handle and the latter desperately shot for a takedown but to no avail, as Simon predicted the move early and stepped out of danger.
Borg threw caution to the wind in the third and final round, landing hard shots to the head and body of Simon, forcing the latter to shift to grappling. As the fight approached its end, Simon showed up, hitting Borg with a few good shots and ensuring the victory. In the end, although both fighters displayed a brilliant stand up game, it was ultimately the takedowns that clinched the deal for Simon.
