Santiago Ponzinibbio and Muslim Salikhov at the UFC Denver weigh-in. Credit: Youtube/UFC
On Saturday at UFC Denver, combat-hardened veterans Santiago Ponzinibbio and Muslim Salikhov collided at altitude.
At 37, Salikhov was still going strong, but he had lost three of his four fights since then, making him 40 when the Sanda kickboxing specialist stepped into the cage. Standing opposite him was the Argentinian Ponzinibbio, a highly-regarded welterweight before health issues robbed him of three years of his career. With a 2-4 record since his return, he looks a different man to the 9-2 UFC winner he had been before, but at 37 himself, he had a three-year youth advantage over the Muslim. But it didn’t end up working in his favor, as Salikhov won a close split decision.
Ponzinibbio started the first round by moving forward with jabs, while Salikhov circled with kicks. The first two minutes were largely a probing process, after which powerful kicking combinations from the Dagestan seemed to herald a step-up in intensity. Santiago followed suit, pressing harder and beginning to throw punches recklessly at his opponent, but Salikhov dodged them and returned to the center, revealing red bruises on Ponzinibbio’s abdomen. The Argentinian struggled to keep his landings steady, but in the face of that fierce attack, Salikhov slowed his pace as the round drew to a close, and cuts began to run down his nose.
As the second round began, Ponzi again moved forward, landing leg kicks of his own, then retreating when his opponent countered. Salikhov attacked in bursts, often mixing in spinning kicks. This rarely worked, until a punch caught Santiago and sent him to his feet on wobbly legs. A subsequent spinning kick further unsettled Santiago, but the 40-year-old Salikhov’s slow pace allowed Ponzi to recover. The Argentine continued his attack, attacking Muslim while landing frequent punches, but still wearing him down.
Salikhov attempted a takedown with two minutes remaining, but was successful, but was unable to contain his opponent. He again controlled the space, but was not fast enough and was caught out by Ponzinibbio’s heavy charges more than he anticipated. Santiago attempted a takedown of his own with 30 seconds left in the round. He got the takedown, but only managed to get his opponent seated against the fence, dragging him along until the horn sounded.
With the score still undecided, the third round was going to decide the outcome of the bout. Unfortunately, both veterans were out of steam at this point and were unable to do any real damage to their opponents. The fight continued with some sparring-like striking, but no damage was done until Ponzinibbio took Salikhov down and held him for the final minute.
When the scorecards were released in the closely fought bout, Muslim Salikhov was declared the winner, 29-28. A win in the UFC at 40 years old is impressive, especially in the co-main event.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Muslim Salikhov defeats Santiago Ponzinibbio via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
