Santiago Ponzinibbio and all the anger over the last UFC defeat: “It was a close fight but I won”

Santiago Ponzinibbio was still hurt in his intense fight on Saturday against the Brazilian Michael Pereira, the UFC APEX in Las Vegas where he fell by split decision. But the most painful are not the wounds, but the frustration caused by the judges ’decision when he saw himself and he felt he had won.

The Argentine MMA fighter promised that it could be a historic fight and he did not disappoint: gave a good show to his opponentwhich earned them a bonus for the best encounter of the night, a consolation within the rage.

One of the factors that may tip the balance of the jury is that Brazil, a country with more MMA tradition than us and with more population and economic power, has a certain weight when choosing a winner in close combat.

For this reason, local fighters like Ponzinibbio see the importance of all Argentine support for the sport and they are adding followers on social networks (such as on Instagram by @sponzinibbiomma).

This is the third defeat since he returned to the octagon, after two years without action due to various physical problems.

From his return, he fell on his return against the Chinese Jingliang Li by knockout, he unanimously defeated the then prospect Miguel Baeza (who came undefeated) and in his last two he was defeated by the split decision of the judges with Geoff Neal in December and Pereira last Saturday.

How these last two happened makes him even more frustrated: “With the judges you can do nothing“, specified for Clarionwhile recovering from the octagon war.

“I’m angry, there’s a lot of work behind it”

-You promised and you kept: it was a bully who won the award for best night. How did you experience this?

I knew the fight would be tough. I tried throwing my hands to knock him out but he really is a stamina fighter. I shook it a few times, but I couldn’t lower it. He also did a lot for me, with very strong punch and knockout power, especially in the first round. Very excited match, ended up applauding everyone, the people in the company and everyone there. Everyone praised it and gave us a bonus of the night, on that side I was happy.

-It’s a very equal battle. Many see you as a winner (I’m one of them), but others don’t. What did you think of the mistake?

-The battle I looked at it again, studied and reviewed it. I really lost in the first round. I started to hit well, but I lacked initiative in the punches and he unleashed power shots. He narrowly won it. The second round he started it better in the first 90 seconds or two minutes, and after that I started to grow and I won the middle of the octagon. Dominé, which is one of the questions that must be scored. I got more punches, just slightly, but I landed more with my hands and kick. Above, at the end of the round I put a takedown key to score and get the second round.It was in the third, that the corner told me, that we were 1-1 and we needed a third round, I also started hitting. In the first minute he took the initiative and hit me, but after that I started to grow, my hands loosened more and the score got better. I clearly won. The account gives 29-28 for the second and third attacks.

Have you seen the fight again?

-Actually my corner saw it, this is what I thought back then, and now that I checked it again with a cool head, I saw the same thing again. Checking out some sites like Hatol, a page where all the fans of the world commented on each round, saw the same thing. Also on Media Source, which is a page where the most important MMA Internet sites vote. Everyone, really everyone, gave it to me. Close battle but I won. I tasted bitter because they didn’t raise a hand. But hey, with the judges you can’t do anything.

-There are two consecutive battles of yours that have the same decision. Does it frustrate you?

-Of course. This is the first time in my professional career that I have had two consecutive defeatsBoth split decisions and I think I both won. The last match, when it was over, (welter) division champion Kamaru Usman posted a tweet that I won because I pitched more, threw my hand, kicked, fell and was more aggressive. The truth is the result did not come … And now again, with a clearer decision, I think, than the other against. Disappointing because in the previous fight they told me that when I beat Neal, who is number 10 in the world, a top 5 would come and, if I won another, a title fight could come. I was going to be 10-1 in my last fights and unfortunately I was 8-3. I’m angry, there’s a lot of work behind it, I think I’m paying a very high price. I left Argentina 15 years ago, I barely see my family, I made a lot of effort and it failed me. But as I always do in my life and in my career, I use frustration or joy as fuel and energy to keep working and growing. It won’t be any different this time around: I’ll keep working harder than ever.

-Does this defeat change your relationship with the UFC?

-The truth is I understand very well how the company works. It’s not a sports organ, is a business company. I’ve worked for them for many years, as an analyst, and I understand very well how this sport works. I can’t change certain things, what I can do is guarantee a show everytime I enter. And I do that. In many battles I received a bonus, in others none, but I deserved it. Every time I go, I put on a show. I follow the weight, the anti-doping schedule we have. I’m doing my part. There are issues that go astray, I can do nothing. I will continue to work hard, I will continue to represent my country and my people in the best possible way, to work hard every day.

-How are your days in recovery today?

-Now what a person is looking for is body care, it takes a few days to recover from stress and blows. We had to give him a little rest and there we were. I am very good physically, I feel great and have recovered well. But it’s still time to give the body a break, especially with all the stress requiring battle preparation, weight reduction. Then go back to the gym and continue the workout.

-What are you doing medically to recover from this fight?

-The truth is I didn’t have any serious injuries, luckily. Sometimes you can break a bone or something and that might take a little while. Thank God in this battle I was not hurt. I have some normal lumps that will disappear in a few days. They were running fast, so the next week I slowly went back to training. I’m okay, that’s the most important thing.

– You are used to wounds: Is there a trick to make it heal faster?

–Yes I am used to being beaten and living with pain. The fact that high -performance running, especially this sport, learns to live and deal with pain constantly. We are always in pain and chronic injury, some blow or new injury. In all the preparation I faced some injuries, but I didn’t do any excuses, I was able to train very well. I was able to control them and now I feel better. I’m full, I want to fight again.