UFC Argentina post-fight bonuses: Johnny Walker elbowed his way to POTN honors

Estadio Mary Teran de Weiss in Buenos Aires, Argentina was home to the UFC’s first Argentinian event, and while it seemed underwhelming going in, don’t cry for UFC Argentina, as the card delivered a decent night of fights with a good main event. The event saw three (T)KOs, four submissions, and five decisions, all unanimous.

Performances of the Night: Santiago Ponzinibbio, Johnny Walker

Santiago Ponzinibbio put on a kickboxing clinic against a game Neil Magny in the main event of the evening. The fight was decided by two factors; Magny’s inability to consistently keep his back off of the cage, and Ponzinibbio’s apparent hatred for Neil Magny’s front leg, which he beat like a piece of tough steak.

By the third round Magny wasn’t just backed up against the cage because he couldn’t find a way past Ponzinibbio’s solid straights and jabs, he was there because at times, it was the only thing keeping him up on his badly damaged front leg. Every time he tried to go to the center, The Ponz would land another leg kick, Magny would hit the ground, and Herb Dean would let him up to hop back to the cage like a scolded kangaroo.

In the fourth round, Magny was downed several times by leg kicks, once again hopping to the cage for support. This time, Ponzinibbio let him stay on the cage and landed a huge right hand that saw Magny face plant to the canvas, ending things.

By the end, the fight resembled a DJ Khaled song, as Ponzinibbio landed another one, another one, and another one. The Ponz was smart, was loyal. His bonus money will let him buy his mama a house, buy his whole family a house. Ponz walked away with the win and is now $50,000 richer for his efforts.

Johnny Walker was ready to put his Magic Mike moves to the test, and he wasted no time in getting the fight finished so he could demonstrate them to the crowd. Rountree was first to land with a leg kick, but Walker is unfazed. Johnny throws a head kick followed by a left hammer and Rountree is rocked. They clinch, Walker grabs Khalil’s head and starts throwing hellbows. Rountree is knocked out, and the honorary Scotsman is dancing and kicking to celebrate his victory. Johnny Walker gets the win and $50,000 to tuck into his shorts.

Fight of the Night: Hector Aldana vs. Laureano Staropoli

Hector Aldana and Laureano Staropoli won fight of the night honors in their undercard bout which was memorably more for the visible injuries left on the visage of both combatants than anything else. Staropoli had a huge hematoma on his forehead that made him look like a golf ball smuggler, while Aldana had his left eye cut and swollen to the point he looked like Rocky Balboa at the end of, well, any Rocky fight.

The bout wasn’t particularly close, with Staropoli clearly winning every round, but Aldana was game throughout and refused to give up, even though he could barely see the punches coming after the first round. For that display of heart and tenacity the UFC rewarded both men with 50K in bonus cash.