Longtime UFC welterweight veteran Santiago Ponzinibbio commented on potentially retiring ahead of his UFC Abu Dhabi bout this weekend.
At age 39, Ponzinibbio steps into the Octagon for the 40th time as a professional MMA fighter when he takes on Sam Patterson this Saturday at UFC Abu Dhabi.
The Argentinian has not fought since May 2025, and he hasn’t won a fight since January 2025. Given he is turning 40 years old in September, he knows that the end is coming soon, though he is hesitant to commit to retirement just yet.
Santiago Ponzinibbio Comments on Potential Retirement
Speaking to MMAjunkie.com in an interview ahead of UFC Abu Dhabi, Ponzinibbio said that while he is thinking of retirement and knows that it is coming soon, he hasn’t yet decided when he will walk away.
“You can try to plan everything in your head, but the truth is that you have to take things day by day. I’m in a chapter where I’m starting to see the end of the tunnel. It’s something I think about, but not something I want. I don’t see it too close because I still feel good. Now, everything is always changing, and you have to take things fight by fight. As of today, I feel great, and I want to be competing, but I don’t plan ahead too much because I know how things work and how quickly things can change,” Ponzinibbio said.
Ponzinibbio first joined the UFC in 2013. Since then, he has fought 20 times inside the Octagon, with a 12-8 UFC record overall. His most notable wins include Neil Magny, Mike Perry, Gunnar Nelson, and most notable of all, current UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland, who he beat in 2015.
Sam Patterson Was Not Original Opponent
According to Ponzinibbio, he was not originally supposed to fight Patterson. Instead, the UFC booked him against another aging vet in Jack Hermansson, but when Hermansson withdrew due to injury, Patterson stepped into the fight in his place on short notice.
“I was supposed to fight Jack Hermansson, but he ended up getting injured, and I was offered Patterson. It’s a much different challenge, but it is still a challenge. It’s one of those clashes of generations that the company likes to make, and it’s a great opportunity to show that I’m still good and relevant and that I can hang with the new generation. I’m not focused on him. I’m focused on me,” Ponzinibbio said.
Despite Patterson taking this fight on short notice, he is a massive -500 betting favorite, with Ponzinibbio listed as a +375 betting underdog.
Given Ponzinibbio is nearly 40 and his durability is waning, it makes sense that a young knockout artist like Patterson would be a huge favorite to win this fight.
Yet, saying that, Ponzinibbio has pulled off his fair share of upsets during his MMA career, so while this matchup certainly doesn’t favor him on paper, it wouldn’t be the first time that he’s pulled off the upset inside the Octagon if he were to get his hand raised.
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