​Santiago Ponzinibbio of Argentina prepares to face Carlston Harris of Guyana in a welterweight matchup during UFC Fight Night at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas on January 11, 2025. Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images. Ponzinibbio returns to action at UFC Abu Dhabi, with the UFC announcing on Friday that the 30-9 Argentine veteran will take on England’s Sam Patterson, 14-3-1, in a welterweight bout set for UFC Fight Night at Etihad Arena on July 25. This will be Ponzinibbio’s first fight since May 2025. Now 39, Ponzinibbio once looked poised for a title shot after a seven-fight win streak from 2015 to 2018, but health issues sidelined him, and he dropped a comeback bout to Li Jingliang in 2021. Since that loss, he has gone 3-5, including a third-round knockout defeat to Daniel Rodriguez in his most recent fight. Patterson also aims to rebound after a disappointing performance against Michael Page in March, a bout criticized for its lack of action as both fighters appeared hesitant to engage. Prior to that setback, Patterson had rattled off four straight wins, all by knockout or submission. UFC Abu Dhabi is headlined by a light heavyweight clash between former champion Magomed Ankalaev and Khalil Rountree Jr. The updated UFC Abu Dhabi lineup includes Magomed Ankalaev vs. Khalil Rountree Jr., Steve Erceg vs. Ramazan Temirov, Rizvan Kuniev vs. Tyrell Fortune, Islam Dulatov vs. Wellington Turman, Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Sam Patterson, Ismael Bonfim vs. Axel Sola, Valter Walker vs. Thomas Petersen, Uran Satybaldiev vs. Dustin Jacoby, Magomed Tuchalov vs. Brendson Ribeiro, and Magomed Zaynukov vs. Damian Rzepecki, with Mike Davis vs. Nurullo Aliev also on the card for improved SEO.