Santiago Ponzinibbio has a new opponent for the first UFC card of 2021 as “Gente Boa” and Li Jingliang have agree to face off on Jan. 16 in Abu Dhabi, multiple people with knowledge of the situation told MMA Fighting.
Ponzinibbio was originally paired up with Muslim Salikhov, but the “King of Kung Fu” withdrew after dealing with COVID-19 symptoms. Li was hoping to compete against Dwight Grant on Dec. 12, but also found himself without an opponent after Grant’s positive test for the infection
Ponzinibbio (27-3) hasn’t fought since November 2018, when he stopped Neil Magny in the main event of UFC’s first-ever show in Argentina.