Santiago Ponzinibbio waited more than two years to return to the Octagon, but his first appearance since November 2018 was over in less than five minutes.
The 34-year-old Argentina native suffered a first-round knockout loss at the hands of Jingliang Li in a featured welterweight bout at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, ending a seven-bout winning streak that began in December 2015. “Gente Boa” had a chance to re-establish himself as one of the 170-pound division’s top contenders with a victory after an a lengthy absence that included a serious bacterial infection, a broken toe and a battle with COVID-19.