Santiago Ponzinibbio critical of judging in split decision loss at UFC Denver: 'There's just a bitter feeling'

Once again, Santiago Ponzinibbio found himself on the wrong side of a split decision reading.

This past Saturday, Ponzinibbio (29-8 MMA, 11-7 UFC) was outpointed by Muslin Salikhov (20-5 MMA, 7-4 UFC) in a split decision that went down in the co-main event of UFC on ESPN 59. Ponzinibbio, along with many online, thought he did enough to get his hand raised and leaves Denver with disappointment in the judging that night.

“Hi, friends. We’re at the airport waiting for our return flight and there’s just a bitter feeling,” Ponzinibbio said in Spanish in a video posted on his Instagram. “We had a great camp, so I take some things with me. I think I was able to perform well, and we did a good job as a team despite the altitude and other factors like small injuries and stuff. Despite all that, we had a good showing, both myself in the cage and the team on the outside.

“We think we won the fight. We at least had two clear rounds. In many MMA places that specialize in this, most people gave me two rounds and some even three. But oh well. Whenever we go to the judges, this is how it goes for me. If I don’t knock my opponent out, the decisions don’t go in our favor. I keep my head up and continue to move forward. I’m a fighter in the cage and in life. I’ll continue to fight.”

Three of Ponzinibbio’s past four defeats have come by split decision. The 37-year-old welterweight veteran currently finds himself 1-4 in his past five outings.