Preview: UFC Fight Night ‘Bigfoot vs. Mir’

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WELTERWEIGHTS

Santiago Ponzinibbio (19-2, 1-1 UFC) vs. Sean Strickland (15-0, 2-0 UFC)

THE MATCHUP: Coming off a controversial win over Luke Barnatt in his last outing, the young and talented Strickland drops to welterweight and draws Ponzinibbio, who was slated to be a finalist on the second season of “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil” before a hand injury forced him out of the finale. Ponzinibbio, an Argentinean who trains at Team Nogueira, dropped his UFC debut to Ryan LaFlare but rebounded with a knockout win over Wendell de Oliveira Marques in September.

Strickland is a native of MMA and embodies the fluid, well-rounded ideal of the present age. He can strike, wrestle and grapple with equal aplomb and backs up those skills with solid athleticism and good power. The Californian is a defensively sound striker who does excellent work on the counter, though he can be forced into periods of inactivity during which he circles behind the occasional jab. It is difficult to take him down, and he possesses strong trips and body-lock throws in the clinch.

Strickland’s best skill set, however, is his top game. He passes quickly, maintains suffocating control and lands big punches at every opportunity. If forced to scramble or grapple from the bottom, Strickland has a nice leg lock and sweep series from half guard. He is promising and could easily develop into a top-10 fighter in his new weight class.

Ponzinibbio’s game is intriguing. The Team Nogueira product is huge for welterweight, a good athlete, packs big power in his hands and owns some skill in every phase, though he needs polish and could stand to develop a more consistent approach. A striker by preference, he works behind a crisp jab, a vicious right hand and a cracking right kick that he throws to all levels. His killer instinct is off the charts: If his opponent is hurt, Ponzinibbio jumps in with relentless flurries to finish the fight. He is a bit hittable and striking defense is a problem, especially early in the fight. He has decent takedowns and better-than-average takedown defense, though he struggles with opponents who can get in on his hips and chain together attempts. His guard is active and solid but not exceptionally threatening, while he can drop bombs from the top and pass quickly if given the opportunity.

THE PICK: Unless the cut to 170 pounds hurts Strickland’s conditioning and ability to take a shot, this matchup favors him. His counter game is tailor-made for an opponent like Ponzinibbio, who, while powerful, generally only throws one or two shots at a time and lacks the smooth footwork necessary to pin him up against the cage and bomb away. Moreover, Strickland’s top game is designed to hold up against the kind of scramble-heavy, active approach Ponzinibbio prefers. The pick is Strickland by wide decision.

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