Santiago Ponzinibbio (23-3) defeated Zak Cummings (19-5) via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 92 earlier tonight (Sat. August 6, 2016) inside Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Two of the judges scored it 29-28, with the third handing in a 30-27 score.
Ponzinibbiio,32, was the better striker in the opening round, tagging Cummings on several occasions, once with a solid head kick. Cummings shot in on a single-leg takedown at one point, but could not land it and hit Ponzinibbio with a low blow that briefly halted the bout.
In the second round, Cummings came out more aggressively, but was still getting caught with punches on the exchanges and his left eye began to show some swelling. He also had a small cut open up on his right cheek. Cummings began to have some success with his striking in the last half of the round, landing some good left hands and a few kicks to the body.
Ponzinibbio picked up the pace in the final frame and began to land more frequently. However, Cummings was weathering the storm, showing his toughness and firing back with some good punches of his own. They remained on their feet for the remainder of the round with the Brazilian remaining the more technical and accurate fighter.
It was a solid win for Ponzinibbio, who has now win three fights in a row. He improves to 5-2 in UFC. Cummings, meanwhile, had his two-fight win streak snapped in defeat. He is now 4-2 in UFC.
For complete UFC Fight Night 92: "Rodriguez vs. Caceres" results, including play-by-play updates, click here.