A fighter with little MMA experience doesn’t believe that it would take much for him to attract the UFC.
Earlier this year, Joe Rogan expressed concerns about the UFC’s heavyweight division due to its lack of depth.
What has previously been a marquee division in the promotion doesn’t currently have the stars or rising contenders that fans are excited about seeing inside the Octagon.
Francis Ngannou recently commented on whether he could return to the UFC, which is something Rogan highlighted as something that would boost interest levels significantly.
A different fighter who previously stated it’s his dream to become a UFC champion believes that he can take advantage of this.
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Rate the chances of Francis Ngannou ever fighting in the UFC again out of 10
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Alex Simon believes he can quickly make doors open by getting back on track ahead of his Glory debut
Former Australia’s strongest man Alex Simon turns 33 years old today (December 11), according to EverybodyWiki.
He decided to take a step back from powerlifting after setting the record as the strongest man in Australian history before pursuing a career in combat sports.
Simon is set to make his GLORY Kickboxing debut against Errol Zimmerman this Saturday at GLORY Collision 8, having not competed since a boxing match in 2023.
The Aussie told Home of Fight in a recent interview that he’s not giving up on his hopes of competing inside the Octagon even if things haven’t gone to plan in recent years.
“The UFC is starving for heavyweights. I haven’t been active,” Simon admitted. “I’ve had a lot of injuries and a lot of bad luck so I’ve had a lot of surgeries but I’m training a lot smarter nowadays. I’m a little bit older, I wouldn’t say wiser, but maybe I train a little bit wiser.”
Simon is right in that if he was in any other weight class, the idea of him making it to the UFC at this age with only two MMA fights on his record would seem highly unlikely.
However, he believes that he’s got the kind of attributes that could accelerate this process.
“Knock on wood that I have a good run from this fight [into] next year and I can get active and [get] a couple of big wins. I’m big, I’m exciting and I’m very marketable with how I look, etc. So, all I’ve got to do is get active, knock a few people out and I’m sure doors would open.”
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Alex Simon has trained alongside a current UFC heavyweight star for 11 years
After taking all of 2025 off, Tai Tuivasa is set to return to the Octagon at UFC 325 next month when he faces Tallison Teixeira in Sydney.
Alex Simon revealed when speaking to Home of Fight that he’s not just rooting for Tuivasa as a fellow Aussie, he’s cheering him on as a long-time training partner.
“We started training together in 2014… He beats me up all the time.”
The UFC has had a fairly consistent Australian presence in the heavyweight division, with Simon hoping to join that list in the near future.
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