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UFC Fight Night 105 results: Santiago Ponzinibbio scores unanimous win over Nordine Taleb

HALIFAX – Santiago Ponzinibbio might not be walking too well tomorrow, but the leg kicks he took against Nordine Taleb were worth it in the end.

Ponzinibbio’s (24-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) steady jab busted up Taleb (12-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) over 15 minutes in a close slugfest he narrowly won.

The welterweight bout closed out the preliminary card of today’s UFC Fight Night 105 event at Scotiabank Centre. It aired on FS1 following an additional prelim on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of the main card on FS1.

The final scorecards were all 29-28 for Ponzinibbio, who picked up his fourth straight win and climbed another rung on the welterweight ladder.

“I am ready for a fight with someone in the top 10,” he said. “I’m ready to be the next champion of this division. I know there’s no tomorrow and that I need more work, but I’m ready to be in the top-10 and for everyone in this division.”

It wasn’t an easy trip, though. The Argentinian got a slow start and ate plenty of leg kicks as he looked for a way inside. As it turned out, his best weapon was his left hand, with persistent jabs marking up Taleb’s face. The damage accumulated to the point where the Tristar fighter spat blood between and during rounds.

The most significant blow came in the second frame, when Ponzinibbio landed a straight right that dropped Taleb late in the round. Going into the final frame, the fight was even.

Taleb attacked the legs more than ever, turning Ponzinibbio’s lead leg bright red. He also employed his own jab and snuck in a few right hands afterward. But Ponzinibbio continued to land more jabs, putting more blood on the mat. As the fight came to a close, both fighters gave an impressive push, landing heavy punches to close out the fight.

Taleb goes back to the middle of the pack after an impressive knockout win of Erick Silva in his previous performance.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 105 results include:

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 105, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s Matt Erickson and Mike Bohn contributed to this report on site in Halifax.)

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