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#3 Ricky Simon vs. Rani Yahya (Bantamweight)
Round 1: Yahya and Simon began cautiously as they looked to asses each other's range. Yahya produced a nice high kick but that didn't stop Simon from pushing forward at Yahya and landing a wild right as Yahya momentarily slipped.
Yahya landed a nice right hook and a one-two but Simon countered with a good shot to the body. He stuffed Yahya's single-leg takedown effectively. He then rocked Yahya with a huge strike and went for the kill. Yahya tried to get back on his feet as the fans in attendance cheered him on.
Simon was all over Yahya as he stunned him yet again with a left hook. Yahya kept going down but Simon kept telling him to stand up. Simon meant business as he kept stuffing Yahya's takedown attempts and landed solid shots all throughout.
Simon ended the round by chasing Yahya and connected with an overhead kick. It was all Simon as he amped up the crowd by thumping his chest after the round.
10-9 Simon
Round 2: A good straight kick to the body by Yahya. A clash of heads caused an opening on the right side of Simon's head. Yahya grew into the fight as he continued to chip away with strikes.
He rattled Simon with a strong right hand and pushed in for the potential finish. Simon showed great footwork to avoid getting finished off as Yahya rammed into his shoulder while coming in and went straight to the ground. He stayed on his back after the shoulder crash and invited Simon into the guard.
Simon obliged in the final ten seconds of the round as he got into the guard and saw the round out.
10-9 Yahya
Round 3: Simon with an attempted uppercut to begin with. Yahya on his back again as Simon raised his arms up to taunt him. Yahya with an overhead kick and Simon answered with a straight right.
Simon showed off his incredible takedown defense yet again as Yahya couldn't even get a hold of his leg. He kept going down on his back but Simon retreated. Simon stuffed another takedown attempt and then increased the volume as he tagged Yahya with straight rights and jabs.
One minute left, and Simon landed a takedown. He got out of the guard initially but played into it as there were only 30 seconds left on the clock. Simon looked to run the clock down as he landed some nasty ground and pound from the mount to end the fight.
A great showing from Simon who played to his strengths and out-landed Yahya with a 61-50 significant strike differential.
Result: Ricky Simon def. Rani Yahya via Unanimous Decision
With an impressive record of 15-1, Simon's explosive performance against the veteran Yahya has surely raised his stock as one of the prospects to watch out for in the Bantamweight division.
