With a dictating performance from the get-go, Santiago Ponzinibbio dominated Neil Magny for three straight rounds before landing the killer blow in the fourth.
After debilitating Magny’s lead leg with punishing kicks, Ponzinibbio’s power came to the fore to capitalise on a struggling Magny and sent the Argentinian home fans into a frenzy.
Recording his seventh straight victory in the welterweight division, Ponzinibbio will now look to the top five in the 170 lbs weight class and little would begrudge the 32-year old of a test against the elite.
Elsewhere at the UFC’s Argentina debut, Ricardo Lamas snapped a two-fight losing streak to prove his mettle in a tightly contested featherweight division, Cynthia Calvillo showed little signs of her horrendous condition 24 hours earlier while Brazilian Johnny Walker burst onto the light heavyweight scene with a demolition of Khalil Rountree Jr.
With another UFC event in the books – and another just around the corner – here are five fights that the UFC should look to make with UFC: Argentina’s big winners:
Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Stephen Thompson
Neil Magny has long acted as a gatekeeper to the stars in the welterweight division and Santiago Ponzinibbio passed his test with flying colours.
Through pressure and making use of his talented stand-up skills, Ponzinibbio dominated Magny to record his fourth stoppage in his last seven fights.
It is clear that Ponzinibbio deserves a big name fighter in the welterweight division with his latest win and a fight with Stephen Thompson would make a lot of sense.
Both ranking wise and stylistically, a Ponzinibbio – Thompson fight would act as a title eliminator in a stacked 170 lbs division.
Ricardo Lamas vs. Calvin Kattar
After two losses in a row, Ricardo Lamas returned to the win column against a game Darren Elkins.
Elkins has remained a tough customer for anyone he fights but Lamas’ work rate and damaging shots on the mat ensured that he became the first man to finish ‘The Damage’ since 2013.
With a workmanlike performance in the bag, a fight with Calvin Kattar would set the winner up with a top 10 fighter in the future.
Kattar was unfairly dropped from the UFC’s top 15 after a loss to Renato Moicano but a fight with Lamas would promise to be a technical and tactical must-watch.
Johnny Walker vs. Gian Villante
After a phenomenal UFC debut last week with Maycee Barber, Johnny Walker may have topped her performance with a first-round demolition of Khalil Rountree Jr.
With a 6″6′ frame and a ton of athleticism to back it up, Walker’s power in the clinch was too much for Rountree to handle and a thudding elbow switched his light off inside the two-minute mark.
While there’s no need to rush Walker through the weak light heavyweight division, a fight with someone like Gian Villante would give Walker a chance to repeat his actions against decent named opposition.
The UFC are seemingly hell-bent on putting Villante on every main card he fights on despite his slow, plodding style and Walker could provide a much-needed burst of electricity to proceedings.
Cynthia Calvillo vs. Cortney Casey
After looking like she was at death’s doorstep 24 hours prior, Cynthia Calvillo’s grappling was too much for Poliana Botelho to handle.
Calvillo burst onto the scene in 2017 with three quickfire wins before a loss and drug test failure but Calvillo will look to get back to the top end of the strawweight division as soon as possible.
A fight with Cortney Casey would be a tough test for Calvillo’s grappling as Casey holds a bigger frame and is a more capable fighter on the mat than Botelho.
Michel Prazeres vs. Vicente Luque
Michel Prazeres made quick work of Bartosz Fabinski to record his eighth straight victory in the UFC.
With such a long winning streak and at 37-years old, it’s basically now or never for the stocky Brazilian if he is to see how far he can climb in the welterweight division.
With Vicente Luque on an impressive run of his own, a match-up between the two would surely produce fireworks and give the winner an almost undeniable shot at cracking the top 15.