Ponzinibbio vs Salikhov

Who won Ponzinibbio vs Salikhov?

Muslim Salikhov beat Santiago Ponzinibbio by split decision in their 3 round contest during the co-main event of UFC Fight Night, on Saturday 13th July 2024 at Ball Arena in Denver.

The scorecards were announced as 29-28, 29-28, 29-28 in favor of the winner Muslim Salikhov.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Welterweight division, which meant the weight limit was 170 pounds (12.1 stone or 77.1 KG).

Ponzinibbio vs Salikhov stats

Santiago Ponzinibbio stepped into the octagon with a record of 29 wins, 7 losses and 0 draws, 16 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 6 by submission.

Muslim Salikhov made his way to the cage with a record of 19 wins, 5 losses and 0 draws, 13 of those wins coming by knock out and 2 by submission.

This was Santiago Ponzinibbio's 18th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2013. Muslim Salikhov marked his 12th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2017.

Santiago Ponzinibbio's UFC record stood at 11-7-0, while Muslim Salikhov's came in at 8-4-0.

The stats suggested Salikhov had an advantage in power over Ponzinibbio, with a 68% knock out percentage over Ponzinibbio's 55%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Ponzinibbio had a slight advantage over Salikhov, with a 21% submission rate over Salikhov's 11%.

Santiago Ponzinibbio was the younger man by 2 years, at 38 years old.

Ponzinibbio had a height advantage of 1 inch over Salikhov. That also extended to a 3-inch reach advantage.

Ponzinibbio was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 12 more fights, and made his debut in 2008, 3 years earlier than Salikhov, whose first professional fight was in 2011. He had fought 30 more professional rounds, 73 to Salikhov's 43.

Ponzinibbio vs Salikhov form

Ponzinibbio had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going to the judges once.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Alex Morono at UFC 282 on 10th December 2022 by knockout in the 3rd round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had lost to Michel Pereira at UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Vieira on 21st May 2022 by split decision in their 3 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had been beaten by Geoff Neal at UFC 269 on 11th December 2021 by split decision in their 3 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had beaten Miguel Baeza at UFC Vegas 28 on 5th June 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest.

He had been defeated by Jingliang Li at UFC on ABC 1 on 16th January 2021 by knockout in the 1st round at Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Salikhov had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had lost to Randy Brown at UFC Fight Night: Dolidze vs. Imavov on 3rd February 2024 by knockout in the 1st round at UFC Apex, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had been beaten by Nicolas Dalby at UFC Fight Night – Vettori vs. Cannonier on 17th June 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC Apex, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Andre Fialho at UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Spivak on 19th November 2022 by knockout in the 3rd round at UFC Apex, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had been defeated by Jingliang Li at UFC Fight Night: Ortega vs. Rodriguez on 16th July 2022 by knockout in the 2nd round at UBS Arena, Long Island, New York.

He was victorious against Francisco Trinaldo at UFC Vegas 28 on 5th June 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Muslim Salikhov had been fighting more than Santiago Ponzinibbio.

Going to this contest, Santiago Ponzinibbio had last fought 2 years and 11 days ago, while Muslim Salikhov's last outing had been 10 months and 18 days ago.

Ponzinibbio's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 11 months and 5 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 9 months and 14 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 13 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.6 rounds on average.

Salikhov's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 6 months and 16 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 8 months and 16 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 12 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.4 rounds on average.

What time did Ponzinibbio vs Salikhov start?

The fighters were expected to walk out at around 4:10 AM UTC , which was 12:10 AM EST or 9:10 PM PST on the West Coast of America, or 5:10 AM BST in the UK.

What were the odds on Ponzinibbio vs Salikhov?

Santiago Ponzinibbio was a 13/25 (-190) favourite going into the contest, while Muslim Salikhov made his way into the ring at 31/20 (+150) with oddsmakers.