Santiago Ponzinibbio says Colby Covington 'was never really my friend', open to knocking him out
On an edition of Hablemos MMA (courtesy: MMA Junkie), UFC welterweight contender Santiago Ponzinibbio weighed in on Colby Covington’s departure from American Top Team.
Ponzinibbio, one of many other notable MMA fighters who train at the famed stable in South Florida, revealed that Covington was creating an unfavorable environment at the gym.
Additionally, Ponzinibbio noted that Colby Covington’s behavior led to several other ATT members such as Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Dustin Poirier, and Jorge Masvidal feuding with former interim UFC welterweight champion.
Santiago Ponzinibbio stated –
“He had to leave the gym for all that role he started playing and bringing in a bad vibe, so he had to leave.”
“I think it was a dumb attitude from his part and, yeah, better that he left because he was bringing a bad vibe to the gym. So it’s good that he left. It’s for the better.” (*H/T MMA Junkie for the transcription)
Furthermore, Ponzinibbio explained that there wasn’t any friendship between him and Covington, even though they trained together at ATT. It was all simply business.
“He was never really my friend.”
Santiago Ponzinibbio stated that he believes Covington is a great athlete and one of the top fighters in the welterweight division, adding that a fight against the outspoken American does interest him a lot.
The Argentine believes that Covington poses a great matchup for him and that he could defeat Covington by knockout if they do end up facing one another inside the Octagon.
Santiago Ponzinibbio looks to return to the Octagon after a length layoff
Santiago Ponzinibbio’s last MMA bout was way back November of 2018, when he secured an impressive knockout victory over Neil Magny.
Since then, Ponzinibbio has faced several challenges, preventing the talented welterweight from to returning to active competition.
Ponzinibbio was scheduled to face Robbie Lawler in December of 2019, but suffered a staph infection in October of that year and as a result, had to withdraw from the fight.
The staph infection and other health complications proved to be extremely challenging for Ponzinibbio, and the fighter revealed that he was in fact fighting for his life in the hospital, as the doctors believed the infection had gotten to his bone and had damaged everything.
Thankfully, Santiago Ponzinibbio survived the ordeal, but then eventually ran into a few more injury and infection issues. Earlier this year, he had contracted COVID-19 as well.
The series of unforeseen incidents adversely affected Ponzinibbio and again prevented him from returning to action.
Regardless, the welterweight contender has recently expressed his desire to return to the Octagon and win the UFC welterweight championship.
With that being said, a win over former interim UFC welterweight champion Colby Covington would surely boost Santiago Ponzinibbio's chances in earning a shot at the UFC welterweight belt that’s currently held by Kamaru Usman.
Who do you believe would win a fight between Santiago Ponzinibbio and Colby Covington? Sound off in the comments.