It wasn’t all that long ago that Santiago Ponzinibbio appeared to be on the verge of a 170-pound title shot in the UFC.

In early 2021, the Argentine striker returned from a prolonged spell on the sidelines with a 27-3 record and designs on chasing welterweight gold only to come up short in his return bout with ‘The Leech’ Li Jingliang. Since then, Ponzinibbio has fallen short against a string of well-regarded opposition like Geoff Neal and Kevin Holland but, even at 37, has shown that he still possesses fire in his fists — as Alex Morono found out to his detriment in Las Vegas 18 months ago.

At this weekend’s UFC event in Denver, Colorado, Ponzinibbio faces a must-win bout against the 19-5 Russian Muslim Salikhov; a fighter who has competed in nearly 200 kickboxing bouts. Don’t expect too much action on the mat in this particular bout.

To remind yourself of what Argentina’s finest can do when the chips fall his way, check out his knockout of Morono in the video below.

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