It was a big night for Argentinian UFC fans and fighters at UFC Fight Night 140 on Saturday, as a pair of local favorites were awarded bonuses.
UFC Argentina is in the books, and a pair of local fighters picked up bonuses at the event. Saturday night, Santiago Ponzinibbio put on a clinic in the main event, chopping away at Neil Magny’s legs, then battering him en route to a knockout finish. Ponzinibbio wasn’t the only local fighter on the card, however. Laureano Staropoli opened the televised card in a welterweight battle with Hector Aldana. The pair slugged it out, Aldana becoming bloodied, Staropoli enduring a hematoma forming on his forehead like an alien growth.
Though the fight was nearly stopped multiple times, it wound up going the distance. The local hero got the nod on the scorecards, but both men will be $50,000 richer after they were awarded Fight of the Night. UFC VP of International and Content David Shaw announced the honor at the UFC Argentina post-fight press conference.
Performance of the Night bonuses, meanwhile, went to Johnny Walker and main event star Santiago Ponzinibbio. Walker, making his UFC debut, shocked when he finished TUF veteran Khalil Rountree Jr. with a short elbow that dropped him to the canvas. Ponzinibio, meanwhile, extended his win streak to seven, and likely put himself one fight away from a potential title shot, depending on how the welterweight division plays out in 2019.
