Santiago Ponzinibbio is a week removed from surgery to resolve a bacterial infection in his blood, so he has no choice but to do what he has been doing since last fall: wait for his next opponent. Ponzinibbio last competed last November in the headliner of UFC Argentina, defeating Neil Magny in the event’s headliner. Since then, the Argentinian has been very consistent about whom he placed atop his wish list for his next opponent: former welterweight title challenger Rafael dos Anjos. The problem, according to dos Anjos, is that the UFC refuses to give Ponzinibbio an opponent ranked higher than him after turning down n a fight with Darren Till at UFC London. In a recent interview, Ponzinibbio denied this claim:
“This is bullsh-t,” Ponzinibbio told Bloody Elbow.” The first guy that turned down the fight with Darren Till is himself, not me….Te UFC needed him for London, and they put another guy, they put (Jorge) Masvidal. [Till] was scared to fight me. He don’t like the fight with me. He knows if he fight with me, he would lose and have three losses in a row.”
Ponzinibbio would then cite a past incident to support his claim that Darren Till does not want to fight him:
“When I fought in Argentina, [Till] said no, he can’t go to Argentina, it’s too far, blah blah blah,” Ponzinibbio said. “After [my win over Magny], he said, ‘I’d like to fight Ponzinibbio,’ and my manager talked to the UFC, and [Till] turned down the fight. He said nothing about the fight. He don’t like the fight with me. He was scared.”
What’s your take on Santiago Ponzinibbio’s accusation that Darren Till has been afraid to fight him in the past?
