Santiago Ponzinibbio Will be Back “Stronger Than Ever” After KO Loss

After having his seven-fight winning streak snapped at UFC Fight Island 7, in what was Santiago Ponzinibbio‘s first bout since 2018, the Argentine fighter has posted a statement.

Ponzinibbio vows to be back “stronger than ever”

The 34-year-old welterweight took on Li Jingliang on Saturday, and was put away by a booming left hook from the latter. Due to various health issues and injuries, Ponzinibbio was fighting for the first time since November, 2018.

Since the crushing defeat, the contender shared the statement below.

I have no words to describe the sadness I feel. I wanted to return giving a victory, yours deserve it for so much support.

I worked very hard for this event, a whole year of preparation but this sport is like that, there is a part out of control, a blow that comes in and everything ends.

I want to thank all the messages and the love of always! All my life I forged it on adversity, this time it will be no different.

I’m coming back stronger than ever

What’s next?

There’s no doubt that Saturday’s loss was a pivotal one, given that Ponzinibbio hadn’t fought in a couple of years. Due to that inactivity, he was removed from the top 15 in the welterweight rankings.

So, on account of this loss, Ponzinibbio will likely need to score a few, big wins before in order to get back in the title shot mix.

All that said, it’s worth noting that Ponzinibbio isn’t that far removed from wins over contenders like Neil Magny and Gunnar Nelson. So, no one should be writing him off as a top tier contender at this juncture.