Santiago Ponzinibbio appears to have lost faith in the referee’s scorecard after losing a split decision to Muslim Salikhov on Saturday.
Ponzinibbio faced Salikhov in the welterweight co-main event at UFC on ESPN 59 in Denver, Colorado, where “The Argentine Dagger” lost a controversial split decision after a technical striking battle that was somewhat lacking in action.
Ponzinibbio slammed the decision, believing he did enough to earn the victory. Three of his last four losses have come by split decision, and Ponzinibbio is beginning to believe the only way to win is by finish.
“I think I won the fight,” the 37-year-old said in an Instagram video (translated by MMAjunkie.com). “We had at least two clear rounds. In a lot of MMA venues that cater to this discipline, most people called it two, some even three, but oh well. Anytime you rely on the judges, that’s what I’m like. If I don’t knock my guy out, the calls aren’t going to be in our favor. I’m going to keep my head up and keep moving forward. I’m a fighter in the cage and in life, and I’m going to keep fighting.”
Verdict MMA, one of the most well-known public scoring platforms, listed Ponzinibbio as winning all three rounds against Salikhov. Ponzinibbio shared an image of the Verdict scorecard on social media, further highlighting the impact that questionable scoring cards have on fighters in general.
“This is proof of how low the judges scored it,” he wrote. “There are three controversial fights. Every MMA rating site gave it to me.” [Verdict MMA]one of the most important sites, and you can clearly see that all three rounds were on my side. I wonder what the judges are looking at. They are wasting the work and effort people put in by not doing their job properly. I’m not just saying this about myself, I’m saying this about all the people who the judges call on the wrong side because no one knows what call they should make.”
Ponzinibbio is now 2-5 since 2021. Prior to those struggles, “The Argentine Dagger” had recorded seven straight wins under the UFC banner.
