“He’s such a beast dude!” he said of the Brazilian, who kicked off his campaign with an upset win over Payton Talbott at UFC 311 before besting former champ Cody Garbrandt on that June fight card in ATL, putting him on the same timeline and trajectory as Simon. “He’s so strong — I look at him and it looks like it will hurt to hit him.
“We both have Fight of the Nights and I look at this card and think this is one of the fights that is gonna be a banger, for sure; this is one of the standouts.
“I’m always up for the challenge,” Simon added. “I feel so good right now: I’m 33 years old, everything has been able to come together. I’ve been able to avoid major injuries, and I feel I’m better everywhere and just gonna make it happen.”
MORE FIGHT NIGHT: Bonfim Levels Up | Schnell Excited
As good as he’s feeling physically heading into Saturday’s contest, what Simon is really looking forward to is just how great it will feel come Sunday morning when he wakes up on a three-fight winning streak.
“Three wins in a year feels damn good!” he said, a broad smile sweeping across his face. “You worked enough and just to put a cap on it — get a win right before the holidays, right before the new year is gonna be perfect.
“It’s gonna be the perfect ending to 2025 after a pretty s**** two years.”
