Santiago
Ponzinibbio has seemingly lost some faith in judges’ scorecards
after his split-decision loss against Muslim
Salikhov on Saturday.
Advertisement
Ponzinibbio met Salikhov in the welterweight co-main event at
UFC
on ESPN 59 in Denver, Colorado. “The Argentine Dagger” came up
on the short side of a controversial split decision after technical
striking affair that was somewhat lacking in action.
Ponzinibbio slammed the decision, as he believes he did enough to
get his hand raised. With three of his last four losses coming via
split decision, Ponzinibbio is starting to believe that his only
way to victory is a finish.
“We think we won the fight,” the 37-year-old said in a video on
Instagram (translation via MMAjunkie.com). “We at least had two clear
rounds. In many MMA places that specialize in this, most people
gave me two rounds and some even three. But oh well. Whenever we go
to the judges, this is how it goes for me. If I don’t knock my
opponent out, the decisions don’t go in our favor. I keep my head
up and continue to move forward. I’m a fighter in the cage and in
life. I’ll continue to fight.”
Verdict MMA, one of the most well-recognized public scoring
platforms, had Ponzinibbio winning all three rounds against
Salikhov. Sharing an image of the Verdict scorecard on social
media, Ponzinibbio further highlighted the impact of questionable
scorecards on fighters at large.
“This is proof of how poorly the judges scored,” he wrote. “There
are three controversial fights. All the rating sites in MMA gave me
the fight. [Verdict MMA], one of the most important sites, graphic
that the three rounds were on my side. I wonder, what do the judges
see? By not doing their job properly, they waste the work and
effort that one makes. And I don’t just say it for myself, but also
for all those who the judges decide for the wrong side because who
knows what judgment to score.”
Ponzinibbio is currently 2-5 since 2021. Prior to those struggles,
the „Argentine Dagger“ authored a seven-bout winning streak under
the UFC banner.