If Argentinian bruiser, Santiago Ponzinibbio, wants to get a shot at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight title, he’s going to have to take a number like he’s trying to order a quarter-pound of salami at the local deli.
That’s because reigning division kingpin, Tyron Woodley, is already booked up for his 2019 return, thanks to 170-pound pain in the ass, Colby Covington, who used to be interim titleholder until he got a runny nose (or something).
“Take a number, bruh,” Woodley said after UFC Fight Night 140. “Everyone wants a crack at the king. Just keep fighting, keep winning and you’re going to get a chance to get across the Octagon and see what everybody else thought they wanted, and that’s catching the fade.”
Ponzinibbio (27-3) blasted his way to his seventh straight victory last Saturday night (Nov. 17, 2018) by laying out Neil Magny in Buenos Aires. It was the fourth knockout for “Gente Boa” during that span and one that will likely inch him closer to the top five of the division.
“He wants to hold on to his title as long as possible,” Ponzinibbio said during the post-fight press conference. “He knows that if he does fight me, I’m going to knock him out, I’m going to take it. So he wants to keep extending his reign for as long as he can and that’s why he keeps saying that I still have a long way to go.”
Check out the current UFC welterweight rankings right here and decide for yourself.