Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Muslim Salikhov Booked for UFC Fight Night Event in July

Per the organization on Friday, Santiago Ponzinibbio (29-7) and Muslim Salikhov (19-5) will come to blows on July 13. The two welterweights will collide at a currently unnumbered UFC Fight Night card that will be held at the Ball Arena in Denver. They combine for 29 knockouts in their lengthy careers, with 20 of those coming in the first round.

This will be Ponzinibbio’s first appearance in over a year, with his last outing an unsuccessful one when he faced and fell to a ferocious left hook from Kevin Holland. The fighter currently known as “Argentine Dagger” has struggled as of late, dropping three of his last four bouts. A pair of split decision defeats to Geoff Neal and Michel Pereira led to a match with Alex Morono, and he punched out the Texan in the third round.

Spinning kick enthusiast Salikhov shares the same record of 1-3 dating back the last couple years as his opponent. The Russian has lost two in a row, with a decision to Nicolas Dalby in 2023 and a quick knockout at the hands of Randy Brown in February. His lone win since 2022 came against Andre Fialho, where he wiped out the Portuguese striker with a spinning wheel kick and follow-up punches.

UFC Denver will be held at the Ball Arena in Colorado’s capital city on July 13, with a flyweight headliner on tap between Maycee Barber and Rose Namajunas. The remainder of the bout order has not yet been established, but bouts that will likely be featured higher on the billing include a flyweight clash pitting Viviane Araujo against Jasmine Jasudavicius, a welterweight tilt between Gabriel Bonfim and Ange Loosa and a scrap at 145 pounds when Christian Rodriguez faces Julian Erosa.

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Reference: https://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Santiago-Ponzinibbio-vs-Muslim-Salikhov-Booked-for-UFC-Fight-Night-Event-in-July-193867