Santiago Ponzinibbio hasn’t had it easy during his time away from the Octagon.
Ponzinibbio last competed back in Nov. 2018. He knocked out Neil Magny in Buenos Aires, Argentina. “Gente Boa” then called out Tyron Woodley, who was the UFC welterweight champion at the time. While Ponzinibbio was riding a wave of momentum, he hit a major roadblock.
Santiago Ponzinibbio Says His Body Is Finally Back To A Normal State
Speaking to MMAJunkie, Ponzinibbio revealed that he went through several bacterial infections as well as an infection in the bone. It was bad enough to where doctors told Ponzinibbio that he may never be able to fight again. Luckily for “Gente Boa,” his body has recovered.
“Now my body’s back to normal,” Ponzinibbio said. “I needed to do a lot of work after this. All these months, for sure my body felt that. A lot of condition training, PT and back, little-by-little, to training. But this is the reason why I stayed far from the octagon for a year and a half.”
“It’s very tough for me. Always looking at the division, the moves, everything. Before everything happened, they told me, ‘One more fight and you go for the belt.’ This is my dream, I’ve been working so hard (for) a lot of years. I’m so excited and, a couple of years after, I’m fighting for my life in the hospital. Ups and downs, (a) very crazy time.”
Ponzinibbio is hoping to pick up where he left off once he returns to action. He is on a seven-fight winning streak. Ponzinibbio is out of the UFC welterweight rankings due to inactivity but one big win would change that.
As Ponzinibbio mentioned, he hopes to shake off the rust and get back in the swing of things in training before fighting again. Once his return is set, MMA News will keep you posted.
