The UFC’s maiden appearance in Argentina had its ups and downs, thus making for an uneven night of fights, but the locals were sent home in a jubilant mood after their countryman, Santiago Ponzinibbio, turned in a terrific performance against Neil Magny. It was dominance essentially from the opening minute, his jab causing problems for Magny’s right eye, while his kicks chopped down Neil’s leg to the point where he could hardly stand properly. There must have been six or seven knockdowns as a result of leg kicks. Magny’s takedowns were futile, and the punches he did land never troubled Ponzinibbio or really dissuaded him from pressuring. Of course, this is MMA, so a corner stoppage was never going to happen, and Magny got clocked with a right hand to the jaw that led to a face-first fall into unconsciousness. Magny was too tough for his own good and he didn’t need to get plastered like that, it should’ve been stopped sooner.
Ponzinibbio has won seven straight, and this was his most comprehensive showing to date. Magny was totally outgunned and Ponzinibbio, even with the headbutt-induced cut over his left eye, essentially dished out a prolonged version of the Lorenz Larkin beatdown that Magny endured in 2016. He is very much a contender in the welterweight division, and I want to see him get a major step up in competition soon. This was a great moment for him to win in front of his fellow Argentinians, and in his one appearance this year, he made one hell of a lasting impression as we edge closer to 2019.
Main Card
- It happened! Darren Elkins was actually stopped for the first time in 2013. The notoriously tough Elkins had his leg chewed up and his face smashed in by fellow featherweight veteran Ricardo Lamas, who got the TKO stoppage with under a minute to go in the final round. Lamas knows how to go from 0-to-60 in a flash with his finishing instincts, and those elbows and hammerfists at the end showed just that.
- Johnny Walker’s UFC debut was spectacular. The towering 6’5” light heavyweight knocked out Khalil Rountree with elbows in less than two minutes, becoming the first man to KO Rountree in MMA. Sign me up for more of his fights, he is certainly more than just a name that’s similar to a brand of whiskey.
- UFC newcomer Ian Heinisch took on middleweight veteran Cezar Ferreira on very short notice, and deservedly won a unanimous decision against the Brazilian, who looked absolutely awful and fatigued quickly. Check out Heinisch’s Players’ Tribune article, because he’s an incredible story.
- It was a slow, almost lethargic opening round for Ecuadorian bantamweight Marlon Vera against Argentina’s Guido Cannetti, but his corner told him to wake up, and he obliged. Vera stunned Cannetti with fearsome Muay Thai knees, more uppercuts, more knees, and then tapped out Guido with a rear-naked choke. “Chito” was a significant favorite here, so this isn’t an unexpected outcome, but he certainly had a scare along the way, and did well to rally in enemy territory.
- She might have looked terrible on the scale on Friday, but strawweight Cynthia Calvillo didn’t have a tough time in the cage with Poliana Botelho. This was a striker vs. grappler matchup that went the grappler’s way, as Calvillo planted Botelho on her back after a caught kick, got in some ground-and-pound, and finished her with a rear-naked choke that was damn close to being a bulldog choke. Good win for Calvillo after a difficult 2018 for her — notably the marijuana suspension plus the passing of her grandfather — and she’s reminded everyone that she is a very talented prospect in her division.
Preliminary Card
- Michel Prazeres vs. Bartosz Fabinski didn’t look compelling on paper, but Prazeres bulldozed Fabinski with an early knockdown and then a mounted guillotine that made Fabinski tap twice (aka the referee screwed up). A 62-second thrashing that hopefully convinces Prazeres to stay at 170, since he keeps missing 155. Amazingly, he has eight straight wins.
- In what might potentially be one of the final UFC flyweight fights for the foreseeable future, Alexandre Pantoja showed off slick grappling skills against Ulka Sasaki, going from his own back to sweeping his way to Sasaki’s back, then finishing the fight with a rear-naked choke. I’m a Pantoja fan and find him to be an underrated talent, hopefully he sticks around even if it’s at bantamweight. Pantoja called out Joseph Benavidez, who is booked to fight Alex Perez on Nov. 30, but I’d watch anyway.
- Featherweight Austin Arnett picked up his first UFC win with a unanimous decision over Peru’s Humberto Bandanay. It was... not good to watch, but Arnett clearly had more effective offense and dominated the final round.
- Argentina’s Laureano Staropoli went to war with Mexican welterweight Hector Aldana in a fight that saw Aldana’s face turned into a bloody mess with two swollen eyes, while Staropoli had a hell of a hematoma. It was a shutout win for Staropoli on the scorecards, but check this one out, because it was very entertaining.
- On UFC Fight Pass, featherweight Nad Narimani outstruck and outgrappled short notice replacement Anderson dos Santos, who’s apparently not an Anderson Silva-Junior dos Santos morphing, so I whiffed on that pick. Peruvian lightweight Jesus Pinedo bested Devin Powell in a shutout unanimous decision that was largely forgettable, and Powell’s in-fight decision making was bewildering, especially the “takedown steals the round!” effort in the final round.