“I can fight once morest any athlete but not once morest the judges, that’s the sport”was the first thing he managed to say Santiago Ponzinibbio through his social networks minutes following his second consecutive defeat in the UFC was consummated.
The best positioned Argentine representative within the company (14th) might not with the Brazilian Michel Pereirawho prevailed on the cards by split decision (29-28, 30-27 y 28-29) in what was a new controversy following what happened with Geoff Neal on December 11.
The co-main event of UFC Vegas 55 became the fight of the night. Both protagonists gave a great show on stage with a round trip that aroused applause and cheers from the fans until the last minute of the third round.
The fight was very even. With both demonstrating their quality of strikersin the first round Pereira stood out with quick combinations, while The Rasta He opted for kicks to try to reduce the movement of his rival. In the second it was possible to see a little more the power of the Argentine’s fists when connecting some direct hooks to his face and in the third it was pure back and forth with both fighters reaching the end.
The last minute was highly applauded by the fans since, despite the fatigue that was reflected in their bodies, the two protagonists continued to attack each other with the aim of seeking that blow that would declare them the winners without going through the consideration of the judges. None might knock out and the result was decided on the cards.
The official site of the UFC in Twitter shared the video of the moment in which the Argentine and the Brazilian listened to the return. Junichiro Kamijo saw Ponzinibbio win, Ron McCarty considered a 30-27 in favor of the Brazilian (very questioned by the fans) and Mike Bell the same for 29-28. It was following hearing the result of the last card when the native of La Plata walked out of the octagon with obvious signs of discontent for what he had just witnessed.
“We left everything in there. My corner and I think we won the fight, it was close but I think we won it. We put the heart, the dedication and we did a good previous job. You can always improve and learn but well…no you can’t do anything once morest the judges, this is how it is and it’s the bad part of the sportbut we are going to continue working and improving”, assured Santiago with a video on his account. Instagram.
Unfortunately, this became his second consecutive loss following losing in December to Geoff Neal also by split decision. The Argentine also added for the first time in his career two falls in a row and with this, his option to fight for the belt of the welterweight category is more complicated.
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