Fighter profile

Santiago Ponzinibbio

“Argentine Dagger”

Welterweight · UFC record 12-9 · 21 detailed UFC fights · Last fight Sat 25 Jul 2026

Distance StrikerPower Striker

Fighter ratings

Ratings V2Rated

Striking (offense)75

Power88

Striking defense77

Takedown defense84

WrestlingProvisional measure63

Ratings V2 descriptive 0–100 scores (21 detailed fights; as of Sat 25 Jul 2026). Not win probabilities or rankings. Missing values stay unavailable.

Chin and Cardio · Frozen through October 17, 2026

R1 research scale

ChinEvidence: ESTABLISHED71.9

CardioEvidence: ESTABLISHED90.7

Source: R1 public_candidate_display · status: Research candidate · as of Sat 17 Oct 2026. Separate frozen research scale; fights after October 17, 2026 are not reflected.

About these ratings

Ratings are domain-specific descriptive scales. Equal point differences across different domains do not imply equal absolute skill differences.

Striking (offense) · Ratings V2: Ratings V2 striking-offense score built from recorded significant strikes landed per round, significant-strike accuracy and significant-strike differential.
Power · Ratings V2: Recorded knockdown and KO/TKO-win threat under the Ratings V2 contract (knockdowns per round, KO/TKO win rate); not literal measured punching force.
Striking defense · Ratings V2: Recorded strike avoidance (striking defense) and bounded absorption (strikes absorbed per round) under the Ratings V2 contract.
Takedown defense · Ratings V2: Recorded defense against incoming takedown attempts (takedown defense rate) under the Ratings V2 contract.
Wrestling · Ratings V2: Ratings V2 wrestling-offense score: recorded takedowns landed per round and takedown accuracy. Not ground control or complete grappling.
Chin · R1 research scale: Exposure-adjusted recorded knockdown resistance. This is not a direct biological measurement of chin, recovery, or injury resistance.
Cardio · R1 research scale: Recorded later-round striking activity and effectiveness retention. This is not a direct physiological fitness measurement.

Ratings V2 scores follow each fighter's latest recorded state; R1 research-scale scores are frozen through 17 Oct 2026. Recovery is separate metadata, not a rating. No combined rating exists.

Profile

Height: 183 cm (6'0")
Reach: 185 cm (6'1")
Stance: Orthodox
Age: 40

Last 3: L W L (most recent last)

Career statistics

Descriptive

21 detailed UFC fights · 52 rounds of recorded statistics. Exact totals from recorded UFC fights through Sat 25 Jul 2026; not opponent-adjusted and not model inputs.

Strikes landed21.1significant, per round

Strikes absorbed21.6per round

Striking differential-0.5per round

Takedown attempts0.65per round

Takedown defense71.0%of attempts stopped

Finish rate58.3%of UFC wins

Striking

Significant strikes landed per round: 21.1
Significant strikes absorbed per round: 21.6
Differential per round (landed − absorbed): -0.5
Striking accuracy: 40.8%
Striking defense (opponent strikes avoided): 61.1%
Knockdowns per round: 0.21
Target: head / body / leg: 70.7% / 12.5% / 16.9%
Position: distance / clinch / ground: 95.1% / 1.8% / 3.1%

Per-round figures divide recorded totals by rounds with statistics. Shares are of significant strikes landed.

Wrestling and grappling

Takedown attempts per round: 0.65
Takedowns landed per round: 0.17
Takedown accuracy: 26.5%
Takedown defense: 71.0%
Control time per round: 0:13
Submission attempts per round: 0.00
Reversals per round: 0.00

Attempts and landed takedowns are counted separately; accuracy is landed ÷ attempted.

Outcomes and durability

UFC record (W-L-D, NC): 12-9-0
Finish rate (wins by KO/TKO or submission): 58.3%
Wins by KO/TKO · submission · decision: 7 · 0 · 5
Losses by KO/TKO · submission · decision: 5 · 0 · 4
Knockdowns scored / suffered: 11 / 9
Average fight time: 11:30 (over 19 bouts)

Results as recorded by UFCStats. Fight time is elapsed time (completed rounds plus ending time) and includes draws and no-contests. These are outcomes, not biological measurements.

UFC fight history

Santiago Ponzinibbio — most recent UFC fights
Date	Opponent	Result	Method	End	Event
Sat 25 Jul 2026	Sam Patterson	L	KO/TKO Punches	R2 3:06	UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Guskov
Sat 3 May 2025	Daniel Rodriguez	L	KO/TKO Punch	R3 1:12	UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Figueiredo
Sat 11 Jan 2025	Carlston Harris	W	KO/TKO Punches	R3 3:13	UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Ribas 2
Sat 13 Jul 2024	Muslim Salikhov	L	S-DEC	R3 5:00	UFC Fight Night: Namajunas vs. Cortez
Sat 8 Apr 2023	Kevin Holland	L	KO/TKO Punch	R3 3:16	UFC 287: Pereira vs. Adesanya 2

Show all 21 UFC fights

Santiago Ponzinibbio — earlier UFC fights
Date	Opponent	Result	Method	End	Event
Sat 10 Dec 2022	Alex Morono	W	KO/TKO Punches	R3 2:29	UFC 282: Blachowicz vs. Ankalaev
Sat 21 May 2022	Michel Pereira	L	S-DEC	R3 5:00	UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Vieira
Sat 11 Dec 2021	Geoff Neal	L	S-DEC	R3 5:00	UFC 269: Oliveira vs. Poirier
Sat 5 Jun 2021	Miguel Baeza	W	U-DEC	R3 5:00	UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Sakai
Sat 16 Jan 2021	Li Jingliang	L	KO/TKO Punch	R1 4:25	UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Kattar
Sat 17 Nov 2018	Neil Magny	W	KO/TKO Punch	R4 2:36	UFC Fight Night: Magny vs. Ponzinibbio
Sat 16 Dec 2017	Mike Perry	W	U-DEC	R3 5:00	UFC Fight Night: Lawler vs. Dos Anjos
Sun 16 Jul 2017	Gunnar Nelson	W	KO/TKO Punches	R1 1:22	UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Ponzinibbio
Sun 19 Feb 2017	Nordine Taleb	W	U-DEC	R3 5:00	UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Browne
Sat 6 Aug 2016	Zak Cummings	W	U-DEC	R3 5:00	UFC Fight Night: Rodriguez vs. Caceres
Sat 16 Apr 2016	Court McGee	W	KO/TKO Punch	R1 4:15	UFC on FOX: Teixeira vs Evans
Thu 10 Dec 2015	Andreas Stahl	W	KO/TKO Punch	R1 4:25	UFC Fight Night: Namajunas vs. VanZant
Sat 27 Jun 2015	Lorenz Larkin	L	KO/TKO Punches	R2 3:07	UFC Fight Night: Machida vs Romero
Sun 22 Feb 2015	Sean Strickland	W	U-DEC	R3 5:00	UFC Fight Night: Bigfoot vs Mir
Sat 13 Sep 2014	Wendell Oliveira Marques	W	KO/TKO Punches	R1 1:20	UFC Fight Night: Bigfoot vs Arlovski
Sat 9 Nov 2013	Ryan LaFlare	L	U-DEC	R3 5:00	UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs Henderson 2

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