About Simon

Simon Head is a sports editor/writer with extensive experience covering sport at national and international level, and is a leading UK media professional in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA).

As an experienced sports editor, the 45-year-old Brit has managed websites, content, editorial staff and developmental projects for major media and betting/gaming brands, and has vast experience in the editorial coverage of major national and international-level sport.

During his 23-year career in sports media, Simon has co-written a best-selling stats yearbook for the English Premier League, managed the digital sports desks of two national newspapers and a national sports broadcaster, coordinated a major UK outlet’s online coverage of the London 2012 Olympic Games, and sat cageside to cover some of the biggest fights in UFC history.

In his early 20s, Simon cut his teeth as a sports producer in local radio before moving to his first love, sports writing. He was part of the editorial team that wrote and produced the English Premier League’s inaugural official stats yearbook, and later managed the content of the world’s biggest online bookmaker at the start of the internet’s dot-com boom in the early 2000s. He also worked as part of the communications department for the governing body of English football, The Football Association.

Interviewing Conor McGregor on the London Eye, April 2015

Simon has been involved in MMA since 2011, when he fought for and established regular digital coverage of the sport at the Daily Mirror during his time as the UK newspaper brand’s Sports Production Editor. During that time he also coordinated the Mirror’s digital coverage of the London 2012 Olympic Games and worked as an integral part of the Mirror Football editorial team that produced comprehensive coverage of the 2012 UEFA European Championships.

That experience helped secure a move to the digital production team at UK sports broadcaster BT Sport in 2013, where Simon worked on the channel’s launch before leading the brand’s digital coverage of the UFC and MotoGP in addition to his team role delivering the broadcaster’s overall digital sports output.

In 2015 Simon was headhunted to become the only full-time MMA reporter in the UK’s national press with The Sun, where he covered the rise of Conor McGregor from hot prospect to two-division UFC champion, and continued his coverage of the career of the UK’s first UFC champion, Michael Bisping.

Chatting with Michael Bisping backstage at UFC 199 in Inglewood, California, June 2016

As a freelancer, Simon built a successful business working as a shift editor and freelance writer for a host of outlets. Alongside editor/reporter roles for MMA Junkie and Fighters Only, his written words have been featured on a plethora of outlets, including BBC Sport, USA Today, and The National UAE, and his insight and opinion have been featured during appearances on BBC Radio Five Live, TalkSport, and CNN. He also hosted MMA podcast “The Brit Pack” and MMA Junkie/USA Today’s weekly MMA talk show, “Spinning Back Clique”

Simon currently works full-time as a sports editor for iTech Media in London, England. He is also a freelance MMA reporter for BBC Sport and a freelance digital manager for leading MMA publication Fighters Only.

As seen on