Santiago Ponzinibbio

Scouting report

Santiago Ponzinibbio was born in La Plata, Argentina, and started kickboxing at 13. He moved to Florianopolis, Brazil, and spent his first five months there living in a tent on a beach. He reached the final of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 2 in 2013, then broke his hand and was replaced. Later he won seven straight UFC fights from December 2015 to November 2018, including a first-round knockout of Gunnar Nelson in July 2017 and a fourth-round knockout of Neil Magny.

Peak ratings

Santiago Ponzinibbio: a tent in Florianopolis and a seven-fight streak

Ponzinibbio went 18-1 on Latin American cards before trying out for The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 2 and joining Team Nogueira. He beat Thiago Silva to get in, then knocked out Marcio Santos, a finish that won a Knockout of the Season bonus. He beat Cleiton Duarte and Leonardo Santos on decisions, but he broke his hand and Santos took his place in the final. He lost his UFC debut to Ryan LaFlare on a decision in November 2013. He has trained at American Top Team since 2015.

Ponzinibbio, attribute by attribute

Boxing. 88, his top number. Nelson was knocked out in round one at UFC Fight Night 113 in July 2017. It was the first time Nelson had been finished by a knockout in MMA.

Kickboxing. 84. He took up kickboxing at 13. Wendell Oliveira, who replaced Sergio Moraes on short notice, was knocked out in round one in September 2014.

Wrestling. 78. He has no listed wrestling background. He beat Sean Strickland on a unanimous decision in February 2015 across three rounds.

BJJ. 76, the weakest of his skills. He is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, but his notable losses were not on the mat. Li Jingliang knocked him out in round one at UFC on ABC 1 in January 2021, replacing Muslim Salikhov.

Strength. 82. Neil Magny was knocked out in round four in November 2018, and the finish earned a Performance of the Night bonus.

Durability. 82. Lorenz Larkin stopped him in round two in June 2015 in a Fight of the Night, and Kevin Holland knocked him out in round three in April 2023.

Cardio. 85. He won a unanimous decision over Miguel Baeza in June 2021 in a fight that UFC.com ranked eighth among that year's best.

Fight IQ. 82. He took the Alex Morono fight at UFC 282 in December 2022 as a replacement for Robbie Lawler, at a 180 pound catchweight, and won by TKO in round three.

Boxing at 88 drives the knockouts

Boxing is the top rating. The Nelson and Magny knockouts both earned bonuses, as did the Morono finish. He has three Performance of the Night awards and three Fight of the Night awards. That is a mix of fast finishes and long wars, and his cardio rating supports both.

BJJ at 76 and a late-career run of close losses

LaFlare beat him in his UFC debut. Li knocked him out in 2021. Geoff Neal took a split decision at UFC 269 in December 2021, and Michel Pereira won another split decision in May 2022. Muslim Salikhov took a split decision in July 2024. He also had fights fall through, including a May 2018 bout with Kamaru Usman because of injury. If you draft him, take his stand-up and fill the grappling slots elsewhere.

Ratings shown are my own estimates, made with AI assistance and informed by how Santiago Ponzinibbio is regarded by the MMA community. They are unofficial and do not constitute an assessment of Santiago Ponzinibbio's real-world abilities. How the ratings are made. See the disclaimer below. Ratings and write-ups by Haaris A. Last reviewed 2026-09-30; spot an error? Tell us. Read our editorial standards.