UFC welterweight Santiago Ponzinibbio needed a win at UFC 282. He was riding a two-fight skid, and heading into the third and final round of his fight against Alex Morono, it looked like that would be extended to three losses. In a recent interview with MMAFighting, Ponzinibbio revealed how he found the fire and fury within him to secure victory.
“Everything changed. They changed the opponent. I had Robbie Lawler, a southpaw, and they booked me [against] a young guy who won eight out of his last 10 fights, four victories in a row. If we’re talking about the names, Robbie Lawler being an ex-champion is a bigger name. But if we’re talking about momentum in a career, that’s Morono. I think Morono has the momentum and I think I took a more difficult challenge.
How Ponzinibbio Secured a Last-Minute KO Win
I needed a victory. Everything changed for me at the last minute, they give me more stress for sure, but I believe in myself. I’m a fighter. I believe I have the potential to do that and I took the fight right away.”
The source of his final-round rally was a hard word from his coach. “I asked to my main coach, ‘How do you think the fight is going?’ He told me 2-0.
My coach told me we are two rounds down. Two rounds for [Morono]. We’re down. We need to do something! I said, ‘OK, let’s go!’ I went into the third round to put the hard punches to finish the fight. I know if I connect, I can finish. Anyone in this division, if I connect hard, I can finish them. This is what I did.
It’s not easy. It’s a lot of information buzzing around your head. I’m coming off two losses, I’m hurt, I’m tired. It’s difficult to take this guy [out], he moves well, but that’s the point where we’re hurt and we use it. That’s the point where we say, ‘F*** it, I don’t care if I’m tired. I’m going to finish this guy. This is what I’m going to do.’”
Ponzinibbio recalled the moment he knew the fight was his. “I hit him with the right hand and I saw the face that he made. He’s in pain. I looked at him and the mouth is going to the side. I threw the second right hand and he fell to the floor and I was ready to follow up with more punches, but the referee stopped the fight. I felt in the moment when I land my right hand that I was ready to finish the fight and I did.
I saw the jaw go to the side and I thought maybe I broke it. I remember this very well. I’m trying to connect with one punch. I threw my strong right hand and I saw his jaw move to the side. I threw another right hand behind it and he fell to the floor.”
