Santiago Ponzinibbio and Miguel Baeza aren’t exactly household names. Neither man has the star power of a McGregor or a Diaz. They don’t even have the niche fame afforded by MMA fans the way Tony Ferguson or Anderson Silva do. But that didn’t make an iota of difference in their three-round war this weekend. Both men took home an additional $50,000 for their Fight of the Night performance.
Baeza started the fight on the front foot, dominating Ponzinibbio for most of the first round. The younger man seemed sharper. He looked more clinical, more ruthless. His movements were mercurial and agile, while Ponzibinibbio seemed at times to be fighting in treacle. But Ponzinibbio displayed the heart that pulled him through a lengthy, severe illness, and came back in round two. He came back hard.
How two relative unknowns put on the Fight of the Year
By round three, both men were swinging like their lives depended on it. Round three looked less like a calm, considered MMA undercard and more like a punch-for-punch fight scene in The Avengers.
Ponzinibbio’s range and experience proved to be too much for Baeza, and the Argentinian won the fight via unanimous decision.
Ponzinibbio, nicknamed the “Argentine Dagger”, was one of the UFC’s brighter prospects. His seven-fight win streak included Neil Magny, Mike Perry, Gunnar Nelson and Zak Cummings. That all came to a dramatic end when, in 2019, he pulled out of a bout with Robbie Lawler due to a serious staph infection. This kept him out of the Octagon for two years. In his comeback fight, Li Jingliang knocked him out in the first round. A disappointing outcome for someone who was once walking through the ranks of UFC Welterweights.
Ponzinibbio in a post-fight interview acknowledged that his best years as an athlete may well be behind him. At 34, and coming off a two-year layoff, his shot at the strap may well be behind him. However, ranked at #13 in the UFC Welterweight rankings, and with a fight like this on his resume, his next fight will be make-or-break.
The Argentine Dagger might face Belal Muhammad, ranked #12 and on a four-fight win streak, to determine which of the two ought to try and break into the top ten. A rematch with Neil Magny might be on the cards – Ponzinibbio was only the second man to put Magny to sleep, and Magny might want revenge. The Argentinian, at this point in his career, must break into the top 10 if he wants to keep fighting, or risk failing to reach his potential.
Did you catch Ponzinibbio vs Baeza? Do you think it deserved Fight of the Night honors? Does Ponzinibbio have what it takes to scale the ranks and take on the hitherto unstoppable Kamaru Usman? Let us know in the comments.
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