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UFC’s Neil Magny cool under pressure of Santiago Ponzinibbio headlining bout in Argentina

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – The expectations couldn’t be higher for the UFC’s debut here on Saturday.

For local hero and flagship fighter Santiago Ponzinibbio, the chance to lead these two dozen fighters into uncharted territory and make the event a success are clear, but the challenge of taking on a superb knockout artist with a 15,000-strong crowd blowing a deafening wind beneath his wings is not lost on Ponzinibbio’s opponent.

“I love it that the UFC decided to go with me against Santiago as the headliners. I feel it’s a great challenge for me, and I am going to deliver for the fans and for the UFC,” said welterweight contender Neil Magny, the man trying to spoil what many hope to be Ponzinibbio’s graduation night as a local icon.

Strategy aside, the initial plan is to avoid the pre-fight shenanigans and leave the fight for the cage.

“There’s no hard feelings against the guy,” said Magny, who was criticized by the local press for failing to engage his foe during the presentation of the bout a couple of months ago, even refusing to lift up his hands for the customary square-off. “I just got a contract to fight him, and I am not going out there to see who makes eye contact or breaks eye contact and all that other nonsense. I don’t see how that gives you any kind of advantage in the fight. I am confident that what I did in training will make me successful on Saturday night, and that’s what I rely on. Everything else up to that point is really not that important to me. I know I need to get the job done, and that’s all that I am focused on.”

UFC Fight Night 140 takes place at Parque Roca Arena. The event airs on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

As a fighter with an almost 80 percent stoppage ratio, with a quarter of those knockouts being in the early going, Ponzinibbio (26-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) will give Magny (21-6 MMA, 14-5 UFC) plenty of things to focus on. And there is an obvious feature that stands out in his scouting report.

“He’s a striker, right, and he is a dangerous striker,” Magny said. “He’s very explosive, he’s got the majority of his wins by knockout, so in my book he’s a striker, and a talented one. But at the end of the day he’s not a fighter that I have not faced before. I have faced very experienced strikers in the octagon and in training, so I am ready for the challenge.”

Magny admits he found an encouraging surprise in his first face-to-face encounter with the Argentine during media day.

“When I realized how much of a height advantage I had on him when we met in person, that gave me so much more confidence going back to the gym and working on our game plan,” said the 6-foot Magny, who towers at least one full head above Ponzinibbio. “I know that sticking that jab early and more often is going to frustrate him, and eventually I will catch him and knock him out.”

Whether that happens or not is up for debate, but as one of the most active fighters on the UFC roster, Magny knows the secret to his success, win or lose on Saturday, lies not in the one isolated victory but rather in his neck-breaking pace of activity and his continuous search for new challenges.

“For me, it’s all about being active again,” said Magny, who claims he plans to attempt to have another fight either late this year or early next. “2019 is my year to get that title shot and win it. And this road starts this Saturday against Santiago.”

Only one obstacle remains to be measured, however, in Magny’s road towards victory: the invisible “extra hand” extended from the seats of every sporting event in the country, a fan base so loud and boisterous it has cemented a legendary status worldwide. Magny got a taste of it earlier this year, and he has no problem admitting he was impressed.

“I am excited for it. I went to experience a soccer game here in Argentina a couple of months ago, and it was an amazing experience,” Magny said. “The fans really engaged with their sports teams, and they were really loud in the arena. They had chants going, they had drums playing, all while the soccer game was playing. I can’t wait to see the energy that they bring on Saturday night come fight time.”

For a guy who acts as if he’s just too cool or aloof to even lift up his hands in a menacing gesture towards his opponent during a photo op, Magny will certainly need some of that mojo on his side if he wants to make an impression. And he seems determined to feed off that energy, as well.

“If I am chosen to come to Argentina for the first-ever UFC (main event), I am going to give the fans something to remember. If it ends up being a split decision, and I get the win that way, and the fans all say, ‘Oh, I want to see a rematch,’ I would absolutely love to come back here and do it again.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 140, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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