Santiago Ponzinibbio wants Vicente Luque next after “Fight of the Night” with Miguel Baeza at UFC Vegas 28

UFC welterweight Santiago Ponzinibbio wants to fight Vicente Luque next after his “Fight of the Night” with Miguel Baeza at UFC Vegas 28.

Ponzinibbio and Baeza met in a three-round welterweight bout that took place on Saturday’s main card, and it was an absolute war between two fighters who chose to stand and bang for the delight of the crowd. After Baeza won the first round with a series of brutal low kicks that left Ponzinibbio hobbling around the Octagon, the second round was a different story as Ponzinibbio was able to find his range with his punches and begin to put together combinations on Baeza’s head. The third round was more of the same and Ponzinibbio was named the winner via unanimous decision at the end of the 15 minutes. Both men were also awarded $50,000 for “Fight of the Night” for their incredible brawl.

Speaking to reporters following UFC Vegas 28, Ponzinibbio was asked what’s next for him following the win over Baeza. Although Ponzinibbio lost his last fight against Li Jingliang by knockout, this win against a top prospect like Baeza showed that the 34-year-old Argentina native still has the goods, and now he’s calling for a fight against the top-10 ranked Luque.

“Maybe end of August or September, I will see (when to return). I would really like to get back into the rankings and give me a tough guy. Maybe Vicente Luque, he’s doing very well. We can do an exciting fight. I respect him a lot and I think we can do a great fight. Or the guy who might lose between Stephen Thompson and Gilbert Burns (at UFC 264). For the guy that’s going to walk away, he’s going to go to the belt. The guy who’s going to lose, it’s a really good fight for me to show to the world I am back and I can be champion of the world and stay with the best fighters in the world,” Ponzinibbio said. “For sure I’m going to do an exciting fight again.”

Who do you want to see Santiago Ponzinibbio fight next after beating Miguel Baeza at UFC Vegas 28?