Welterweights
Michel Pereira (27-11, 5-2 UFC) vs. #14 WW | Santiago Ponzinibbio (28-5, 10-4 UFC)Pereira channeling his considerable talent to become an actual contender was something that was always on the table, but it is still a shock to see that process happening. Pereira was a celebrated UFC signing in 2019, mostly for entertainment reasons, as Brazil’s “Demolidor” has one of the best highlight reels in the sport. Pereira’s regional fights contained all manner of flips and acrobatic strikes that looked spectacular whether they actually landed or not. Of course, that inefficiency led to some baffling losses, a trend that continued with the start of Pereira’s UFC career. He scored a blistering knockout of Danny Roberts in his debut, then memorably tired out in an upset loss to Tristan Conelly and got himself disqualified with an illegal knee against Diego Sanchez. Then Pereira suddenly did the most unexpected thing of all: He started fighting smartly. There is still the occasional burst of acrobatic offense, but Pereira has leveraged the athleticism that allowed him to get away with his style for so many years into a more patient style, using quickness to outmaneuver his opponents and keep them at range while mixing in the occasional sudden takedown. Cardio and defense are still long-term concerns, but Pereira has found a second gear against fellow sluggers enough times that he is now riding a four-fight winning streak, setting him up for his first ranked opponent. Ponzinibbio is a bit of a tragic case at this point, as the “Argentine Dagger” looked to be a potential South American star with his 2018 win over Neil Magny. Headlining the UFC’s first trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina’s own Ponzinibbio ended a blistering performance with a brutal knockout to cap off a seven-fight winning streak and announce himself as a welterweight contender. However, a series of career-threatening infections forced Ponzinibbio out of action for two years, and he has looked diminished since his return in January 2021. After getting sparked by Jingliang Li in his return bout, Ponzinibbio did gut out a win in an absolute war against Miguel Baeza to show that he still has plenty of heart, but he was easily evaded by Geoff Neal in a flat performance in December, suggesting his window as a contender has officially closed. Ponzinibbio is still persistent, so he could tire Pereira out over three rounds and take over through sheer attrition. Still, Pereira looks more than capable of putting on the same type of point-scoring performance as Neal, only with the ability to catch Ponzinibbio with something powerful and unexpected. The pick is Pereira via second-round knockout.
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Holm vs. Vieira
Pereira vs. Ponzinibbio
Njokuani vs. Todorovic
Ricci vs. Viana
Park vs. Anders
The Prelims