Which High Level Grappler Can Come Out on Top in This Highly Competitive Bantamweight Matchup?
Raoni Barcelos has put himself on notice recently with two impressive victories, one over Payton Talbott and one over the former Bantamweight Champion Cody Garbrandt. He now faces Ricky Simons, who lost three straight matches but has since put together two solid wins. Simons looks to be back on track, aiming for a return to the top 15. Stylistically, this should be nearly a mirror fight. Both fighters succeed most in the wrestling department and base their strategy on multiple takedown attempts. Which high-level grappler can continue their climb toward the top 15 of the Bantamweight Division?
At 38 years old, Raoni Barcelos looked to be on the back end of his career after a rough streak. However, he has never looked better, and he continues to strike while the iron is hot and continues this recent momentum for however long it carries him. At this stage of his career, his striking isn’t what it used to be. His speed and power, especially in the Bantamweight Division, are going to be the lesser of the two fighters in almost every matchup. However, his pace and pressure are what really give him an advantage in every fight. His cardio and conditioning are exceptional, and he mixes it well, but throws a flurry of strikes to back his opponent up against the fence and then shoots for takedowns to either get the fight to the ground, where he excels, or wear them down repeatedly. Ricky Simon likes to shoot takedowns early and often, and it’s going to come down to who is the one going forward. Early on, I think Simon is going to have the advantage, especially in round one, but he doesn’t have the best cardio, and in rounds two and three, if the fight goes that long, Raoni is going to do what he has done best and drown his opponent and outpace them for the decision victory. I think that’s the best course of action for him to win this fight, and it is a very possible outcome because he got caught with some massive shots in the first round from Garbrandt but was able to recover and survive. I think he could be durable enough to do the same in this fight.
Ricky Simon was once on a five-fight winning streak and had a main event fight against Song Yadong as he had quick aspirations of getting a title shot. He was outclassed and finished in that fight, and went on to lose two more fights after, and it looked like his dreams of fighting for a title could potentially be over. However, he was able to bounce back hugely, landing a devastating knockout of Javid Basharat, and followed that impressive performance with a wire-to-wire victory against Cameron Smotherman. He now faces someone who is also on a career revitalization and has a simple fighting style like his. Simon has crazy power in his right hand, but besides that, his striking has a lot that could improve. On the feet, if he sticks behind his one two, he will be able to piece up Raoni, who is hittable, and in exchange, he will have more power over the two. He has taken down 14 of his last 15 opponents, so if he can continue that streak here, he will be able to do some serious damage and really slow down the pressure and pace that Raoni will try to put on. I think if he is the one going forward and wears on Raoni, opposed to the other way around, I think he will be able to fight his fight and potentially catch the 38-year-old at some point with another devastating knockout.
This is a fight between two OG’s of the Bantamweight Division. Both fighters like to use their hands to set up their takedowns and have great entries when doing so. This fight could go either way, but whichever way it goes, you're not going to want to miss it and all the other exciting action this Saturday, November 8th. The main card start time is 7:00 p.m. eastern standard time.
