Sam Patterson Floors and Bloodies Santiago Ponzinibbio at UFC Abu Dhabi
Sam Patterson finally returned to winning ways earlier tonight at UFC Abu Dhabi.
The 30-year-old locked horns with MMA veteran Santiago Ponzinibbio, and as their three-round 170-pound contest began, the Brit looked composed from the opening bell.
Although he was stunned by Ponzinibbio early in the fight, he recovered really quickly and then did a great job controlling the pace and landing the perfect counters from a distance for the rest of the round. With his front kick, he stayed away from Ponzinibbio’s firing range, and every time the latter got in the pocket and tried to land something effective, he got pushed back with Patterson’s straight front kick.
In Round 2, Patterson stunned and pieced up Santiago Ponzinibbio while he and the Argentinian fighter were having a wild brawl. Patterson then tagged “Argentine Dagger” with his jab numerous times in the second stanza and then dropped the 39-year-old twice after cracking him with back-to-back vicious right hands.
A gassed-out Ponzinibbio got his face battered and turned into a horror movie scene from the punishment at UFC Abu Dhabi. He briefly made it back to his feet after being knocked down before Sam Patterson floored him again to seal the TKO victory.
Official result: Sam Patterson defeated Santiago Ponzinibbio via TKO in Round 2 (3:06)
After tonight’s big win, Sam Patterson made it clear that he wants to enter the octagon asap and is game to fight the winner of next weekend’s headliner bout between Uros Medic and Daniel Rodriguez.
