Just a two days after scoring his first win in a year by knocking out Yancy Medeiros in the headlining bout of UFC Fight Night 126 in Austin, Texas (see it), Donald Cerrone already has someone wanting to be his huckleberry.
Speaking to MMA Fighting, No. 10 ranked Santiago Ponzinibbio revealed “Cowboy” is one of his top picks as his next opponent, with Stephen Thompson being the first. But since “Wonderboy” is healing up, Santi wants the chance to trade leather against one of the most experienced and talented fighters on the UFC roster.
“The best options are Thompson and Cerrone because of their fighting styles,” Ponzinibbio said. “It would be a great show against either one of them, but Thompson is saying that he’s injured. After such a beautiful performance last night, Cerrone would be a great option,” added the Argentinean.
Furthermore, Santiago has a very specific date in mind, as he wants to take part in UFC Fight Night 29 on May, 19 which will be UFC’s first-ever trip to Chile.
“I was watching Cerrone’s fight last night and he was really impressive,” the Argentinian said. “It was a good knockout. He has a lot of knockouts, and I think it would be a fun fight for the fans. Cerrone and I could do a fight that will go down in history, in an event that will already make history in Chile.”
I dig it.
Of course, Cerrone may not be sticking around the 170-pound division for much longer, as he revealed his plans to return to the lightweight division in order to capture the title that eluded him for years, all while trying to take down the most dominant fighter in the division.
As for Ponzinibbio, he is currently riding a highly-impressive six fight win streak and was last seen schooling Mike Perry at UFC on FOX 26 last December. Despite Cerrone’s intentions of dropping down a division, he also went on record saying he will take on anyone UFC wants him to, regardless of division.