Santiago Ponzinibbio

ANALYSIS
Ponzinibbio, who is coming off a comeback victory over Carlston Harris via TKO in January, has booked his next fight. The pair were originally scheduled to fight in September 2023 before Rodriguez withdrew due to a positive drug test. Although the location has not officially been determined, the event is rumored to be in Des Moines, Iowa. Ponzinibbio will have a slight disadvantage in height and reach, but he makes up for that with his experience.

ANALYSIS
Entering with back-to-back losses and staring down the barrel of his third straight defeat and possibly the end of his UFC run, Ponzinibbio took over in the second half of this fight. It didn't go well early on. There were multiple instances in which it looked as if Harris might earn the stoppage, but Ponz powered through and at least gave himself a chance. He got continuously better and Harris faded, setting the stage for a late, if controversial, stoppage victory. Ponzinibbio turned 38 years of age in September and he's clearly nowhere near the same guy that won seven straight earlier in his UFC run, but there's some gas left in the tank if the company is careful regarding the level of opposition which it matches him up against.

ANALYSIS
Ponzinibbio has lost four of his last five fights, including his two most recent bouts against Kevin Holland and Muslim Salikhov. It's safe to say momentum won't be on Ponzinibbio's side in January, though his opponent also endured a loss in his last time out.

ANALYSIS
It was a fight the 37-year-old Ponzinibbio had to have and may very well have deserved. Two of the three judges disagreed. One thing that was abundantly clear was that there was very little separating these two on the feet. With the bout in the balance late, Ponzinibbio smartly went to his wrestling. He landed a takedown with a couple minutes left and managed to grind his way to the final bell. Unfortunately, it didn't make a difference because he was already down 20-18 on a pair of scorecards. Ponzinibbio is now sporting a 1-4 mark in his last five fights dating back to December 2021. Three of those defeats have come against excellent competition in Geoff Neal, Michel Pereira and Kevin Holland, but sooner or later Ponzinibbio is going to have to start stringing some wins together.

ANALYSIS
Ponzinibbio's welterweight clash with Ponzinibbio will be his first fight since his bout with Daniel Rodriguez was canceled in September of 2023. Ponzinibbio will have a three-inch reach advantage as he looks to earn his first win in the UFC since 2022.