Santiago Ponzinibbio is not a fan of the UFC rankings.
After Ponzinibbio knocked out Neil Magny in 2018, the now 34-year-old was ranked inside the top-15. However, he has been dealing with health issues and has not fought since November of 2018, but will return on January 16 against Li Jingliang.
For Ponzinibbio, when he returns, he will not have a number beside his name which he says is bulls**t.
“They removed me (from the rankings). Brian Ortega fought three weeks after me and he’s still in the rankings and he was in the main event (against The Korean Zombie). I asked, why is he in the rankings despite the inactivity? Why does he get a main event, and me (an unranked opponent in Jingliang)?” Ponzinibbio said to Sherdog.
“Listen, I love Brian Ortega. I think he deserves it, he showed to the world he deserves it, he beat a guy and hopefully he becomes a champion. I don’t have anything against him. It’s just our situation’s very similar. For this reason, I repeat, I think the rankings are bullsh*t. I go inside my cage and do my work. That’s it. I represent my culture and my people from Argentina and from Latin American and I put a show inside the cage, man.”
In his career, Santiago Ponzinibbio is 27-3 and riding a seven-fight winning streak with wins over Magny, Mike Perry, and Gunnar Nelson. He also holds a notable wins over Sean Strickland, but if he can get past Jingliang, it is likely he will re-enter the welterweight rankings.
