Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Li Jingliang added to UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Kattar

An intriguing welterweight bout between Santiago Ponzinibbio and Li Jingliang has been added to UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Kattar.

MMAFighting.com was the first to confirm that Ponzinibbio vs. Jingliang will take place on the UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Kattar card, which is set to take place on January 16 on Fight Island. It seems likely that Ponzinibbio vs. Jingliang will be placed on the main card considering it features two former top-15 welterweights who are exciting.

It should be noted that Ponzinibbio was already expected to fight on this card against Muslim Salikhov, who had to withdraw from the bout after testing positive for COVID-19. Similarly, Jingliang was supposed to fight at a recent UFC Vegas event but he fell off the card when his opponent Dwight Grant tested positive for the coronavirus.

Ponzinibbio (27-3) was one of the top-10 welterweights in the world after knocking out Neil Magny in November 2018, but he hasn’t fought since then due to numerous issues and a positive COVID-19 test of his own. Ponzinibbi is 9-2 overall in the UFC and he holds notable wins over Magny, Mike Perry, and Gunnar Nelson, among others. The Argentinian is extremely heavy-handed, with 15 wins coming by way of knockout. With Ponzinibbio having missed over two years of action, the UFC clearly wanted to give him a tune-up fight against someone outside the top-15, though Jingliang is no slouch.

Jingliang (17-6) has actually been in the UFC since 2014 and has racked up a 9-4 record in that time, making him one of the most underrated welterweights in the promotion. Jingliang is actually coming off of a decision loss to Magny, the last man that Ponzinibbio beat, a loss which snapped a three-fight win skid. Overall, Jingliang has won seven of his last nine fights in the UFC, with five knockouts in that stretch.

Who do you think wins, Santiago Ponzinibbio or Li Jingliang?