Ponzinibbio says RDA turned down UFC Buenos Aires fight
UFC welterweight Santiago Ponzinibbio believes he deserved a step up in competition after his last win, not Neil Magny.
Santiago Ponzinibbio didn’t exactly expect Neil Magny to be his next opponent in the Octagon.
Currently on a six-fight winning streak, with three knockouts, the 32-year-old hoped to be matched up with a top 5 name in the welterweight division, but didn’t get his wishes.
In a recent interview for Ag Fight, a disappointed Ponzinibbio claimed that his last couple of wins didn’t get him the challenge the was expecting, even though he says the UFC told him they would pair him up with a top 5 fighter.
“Yes (I deserved a better name than Magny),” Ponzinibbio said. “But there’s no math in the UFC. When you’re ranked among the best, things change a little. After I defeated Gunnar Nelson, who was the number eight fighter in the rankings - in 82 seconds, with a beautiful knockout, they told me they would give me a top-5 opponent. They ended up giving me Mike Perry and defeated him, too. Then they said they would give me a top 5 opponent again, but I’m fighting Magny, the new number eight. There’s no way to know what will happen.”
However, Ponzinibbio also says that some fighters declined the challenge to take him on in Santiago’s home country of Argentina: namely, former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos.
“They told me nobody wanted to fight me in Argentina, that the only one who accepted was Magny,” he said. “I’m certain (Rafael dos Anjos avoided the fight out of fear). A fight against Dos Anjos in Argentina made total sense, the UFC offered him, but he declined. They tried a didn’t offer and he still refused. So I’m sure he avoided me. The UFC told me that the only top-10 guy who accepted to fight me in Argentina was Magny.”
Santiago Ponzinibbio is expected to take on Neil Magny at UFC Fight Night 140 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on November 17. As for dos Anjos, he will fight Kamaru Usman in The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale on November 30 in Las Vegas, Nevada.