Santiago Ponzibbio is Officially a Welterweight Contender After Producing a Brutal Performance Against Neil Magny in His Native Argentina…
You can add Santiago Ponzinibbio to the list of rising stars in the UFC welterweight division. 170 is quickly becoming one of the most stacked divisions in the promotion, with a whole host of savages lining up to take their shot at the champion, Tyron Woodley.
Ponzinibbio has built up an excellent record, with 7 straight wins. 5 of those have been via KO or TKO and he’s fought very decent opposition including Gunnar Nelson, Mike Perry and now Neil Magny, in the main event of UFC Fight Night 140, which went down in the capital of his native Argentina, Buenos Aires.
‘Rasta’ has phenomenal knockout power and the ability to press his opponent in devastating fashion. Magny – a solid top-ten fighter – was not able to deal with it, and found himself the other side of a KO finish. Watch the footage below. Stone cold.
Were you not entertained…@SPonzinibbioMMA put on a show at #UFCArgentina. pic.twitter.com/M4KRZe33iB
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) November 18, 2018
Dominant
Magny was up against it the whole way through this fight. Ponzinibbio unleashed savage leg kicks which the Illinois fighter struggled to deal with, literally being dropped a couple of times because of their sheer raw power. The Argentinian strode forward and blazed punches and kicks at his American opponent for almost the entirety of the fight.
A clash of heads did see a nasty cut open on Ponzinibbio’s head, but it didn’t affect his performance in any way, as he continued to put on a show of violence into the third and fourth rounds. The finish came in the first of the championship rounds, when he faceplanted Magny with a monstrous right hand, to end the fight via KO. It was a very impressive showing.
These leg kicks 😳 #UFCArgentina pic.twitter.com/Yq6HWPAZf7
— UFC (@ufc) November 18, 2018
Savage
Fortunately, Magny was able to get up and limp away after the fight. There’s no doubt though that he’s reached his ceiling and that any hope of a title run is now out of the question. For Ponzinbbio, the big question is who should he fight next? Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson would be an excellent choice of opponent. It would be a very interesting striking battle between a technical fighter and a South American savage. We’re up for that.
It’s also interesting to note that Ben Askren definitely hasn’t called him out yet – and we don’t blame him. The Argentinian is a dark horse in this division and is certainly one to watch over the coming months.
Neil Magny limping, but appears to be ok after a heavy KO. pic.twitter.com/HHZLBhbTD9
— Guilherme Cruz (@guicruzzz) November 18, 2018
Results
Meanwhile, Ricardo Lamas starched Darren Elkins in the co-main event in Buenos Aires, bloodying up the durable American’s face. He wasn’t able to defend intelligently and the referee rightly intervened. Cynthia Calvillo was also able to get her name back in the win column with a submission victory over Poliana Botelho, after a very disturbing weigh-in. The full results are available below:
Santiago Ponzinibbio def. Neil Magny via KO.
Ricardo Lamas def. Darren Elkins via TKO.
Johnny Walker def. Khalil Rountree via KO.
Ian Heinisch def. Cesar Ferreira via Unanimous Decision.
Marlon Vera def. Guido Cannetti via Submission (rear-naked choke).
Cynthia Calvillo def. Poliana Botelho via Submission (rear-naked choke).
Michel Prazeres def. Bartosz Fabianski via Submission (Guillotine).
Alexandre Pantoja def. Ulka Sasaki via Submission (rear-naked choke).
Austin Arnett def. Humberto Bandeney via Unanimous Decision.
Laureano Starapoli def. Hector Aldana via Unanimous Decision.
Jesus Pinedo def. Devin Powell via Unanimous Decision.
Nad Narimani def. Anderson dos Santos via Unanimous Decision.
