Santiago Ponzinibbio doesn’t believe there is controversy surrounding his first-round knockout over Gunnar Nelson.
Yesterday (July 16), Ponzinibbio took on Nelson inside The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland, The welterweight clash served as UFC Fight Night 114’s main event. “Gente Boa” starched “Gunni” in the first round.
Nelson pointed out that he had been poked in the eye after the bout. MMAFighting.com reached out to Ponzinibbio, but said he didn’t see the fouls when he played the tape back:
“I went there to knock him out and thank God it went as expected, I won by knockout. If (the eye poke) happened, of course it wasn’t intentional, but I watched the video again and didn’t see it. I don’t know. But it was a knockout with the right hand that I landed on him. The right hand hurt him and I finished with a precise jab.”
Ponzinibbio went on to say that there isn’t an asterisk next to his victory.
“It doesn’t take anything away from the win. What he says doesn’t change anything. There’s a referee inside the Octagon looking at it, and he can stop the fight any time he wants. The No. 8 in the world lasted 82 seconds. He’s 28, he’s versatile, a great athlete, one of the best in the division, has a bright future in the UFC, will be at the top, but it was an excellent win. (He) lasted 82 seconds.”
