Santiago Ponzinibbio knows he’s in line for a big fight following his knockout win over Neil Magny and he’s already got an opponent in mind.
Following his fourth round knockout victory, Ponzinibbio initially called for a title shot against champion Tyron Woodley but realistically he knows that Colby Covington is already in line for the next opportunity at welterweight gold.
If Woodley isn’t available, Ponzinibbio has his sights set on the upcoming ‘Ultimate Fighter’ finale where Kamaru Usman will battle Rafael dos Anjos in the main event.
“It would be a great fight to fight the victory out of the [Rafael] dos Anjos and [Kamaru] Usman fight,” Ponzinibbio said at the UFC post fight press conference. “It’s not math, it’s not just the numbers, the division shifts a lot but it would be a great fight and I’m really looking forward to one of those.”
Ponzinibbio has history with Usman after they were originally scheduled to meet earlier this year but the Argentine welterweight suffered a hand injury that knocked him out of their fight.
Whether it’s Usman or dos Anjos who gets the job done on Nov. 30, that’s who Ponzinibbio hopes to face next as he looks to extend his win streak and inch that much closer to title contention.
One other name that was brought up to him on Saturday night was British slugger Darren Till, who is still ranked No. 2 in the division after suffering a loss to Woodley back in September.
According to Ponzinibbio, he has no interest in facing Till because of his repeated problems making the welterweight limit and he doesn’t see the need to face him right now.
“I don’t see [Darren Till] as a very professional athlete,” Ponzinibbio said. “I think he missed weight a few times so there are fights that I’m more interested in than him.”
Whoever it may be, Ponzinibbio definitely seems to have secured a top five opponent as he looks to battle for the welterweight title at some point in 2019.
Who would you like to see Santiago Ponzinibbio face when he returns next year? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
