Santiago Ponzinibbio thinks one man specifically has a good shot at dethroning UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards.
Ponzinibbio, a veteran of the UFC’s 170-pound division and analyst for UFC Español, sees Edwards as a solid fixture of the top of the weight class and sees him getting past most challengers except one – Shavkat Rakhmonov.
“I think Shavkat is the most difficult fighter,” Ponzinibbio told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “I think he’s the most difficult, but again, anything can happen in this sport, and that’s why it’s so beautiful. It’s always a coin toss.
“But Shavkat looks good. There’s also Jack Della Maddalena, Ian Garry, who are good prospects, but I don’t know if they have the complete game to take the title from Leon Edwards. But let’s see what happens.”
Ponzinibbio (29-7 MMA, 11-6 UFC) returns to the octagon this Saturday after being out for over a year. He takes on fellow veteran Muslim Salikhov (19-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC) in the co-main event of UFC on ESPN 59, which goes down at Ball Arena in Denver.
Edwards doesn’t fight long after, as he’s set to defend his title later this month against Belal Muhammad in the main event of UFC 304 in Manchester, England. Ponzinibbio sees the champion keeping his title.
“He’ll be fighting at home, so I see him as the favorite,” Ponzinibbio said. “Leon Edwards manages distance very well, and he’s a southpaw that fights very long. He’s got an excellent takedown defense. Look at how much Usman struggled to just get to the takedown and if he’d get there, he would defend it. But he wouldn’t even let him get to initiate a takedown because of how well he managed distance. His faints, how he exits after he strikes. So yeah, I think standup-wise, he’s more complete than Belal. His kicks are better, he’s longer, I just see him better on the feet.
“I think Belal is going to feel a bit lost on the feet and look for the takedowns like he did against Thompson, and Leon Edwards should be able to deal with that. I’m picking the champion. He takes this one.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.
