Santiago Ponzinibbio returned to the win column at the first available opportunity in 2025 by stepping inside the Octagon this past Saturday.
The Argentine earned his twelfth win under the UFC banner and he already has a potential destination and opponent in mind for his next outing.
Ponzinibbio has been involved in some incredible back-and-forth fights, especially in recent times once he returned from a lengthy hiatus between 2018-2021.
Whilst he has been unable to recapture that same form and momentum that he had before his injury issues, the 38-year old has become a must-watch fighter.
In the co-main event at the UFC Apex, he produced another stunning comeback win to finish Carlston Harris in the third round to get his hand raised for the first time since another come from behind win over Alex Morono back in December of 2022.
He spoke after the fight about targeting the UFC's return to Miami which is seemingly targeted for UFC 314 on April 12.
The welterweight contender has been based out of Florida for some time and he has a dynamite match-up in mind for a clash on home turf:
“There are so many good names,” Ponzinibbio said at the post-fight press conference. “So many good guys come to mind (who) have a long time in the road like me. We can make a great fight. I need to think quickly.
“Maybe Vicente Luque is a name that comes into my mind because the guy has so many years in the sport like me. I have a lot of respect for him. He’s a gentleman. He’s coming off a really good victory. We both have a lot of Latin people behind us and we can make a good fight. But there are so many good guys. We’ll see what the company says.”
Luque has also felt the impact of injuries and inactivity in recent years but at UFC 310, he reminded fans what he is capable of by submitting Themba Gorimbo in less than a minute.
