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Ricky Simon kicks Gaetano Pirrello of Belgium in a bantamweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Etihad Arena on UFC Fight Island on January 20, 2021 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

For nearly five months, the bout between Ricky Simon and Brian Kelleher has turned into the buddy cop movie we never knew we needed, as the two have had some good-natured sparring over social media as they await what they hope will actually be a fight this Saturday in Las Vegas.

“I'm confident this time,” laughed Simon, who has seen two previous bouts with New York’s “Boom” fall by the wayside. “The third time's the charm, right? We've been talking for so long now, I feel like we owe it to each other to go out there and try to beat the crap out of each other.