All eyes will be on the prestigious UFC Apex Arena in Nevada, USA, on Sunday, January 12th, for the UFC Fight Night bout Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Ribas. Our prediction for the day is on the preliminary Welterweight fight between Carlston Harris and Santiago Ponzinibbio. From all indications, we are all set to witness an explosive matchup between these two ferocious professional fighters. But first, let’s have an overview of their respective profiles.
Carlston Harris AKA “Moçambe”
Carlston made his UFC debut in 2021 but has professionally been in the MMA discipline since 2011. He is from Guyana, aged 37, and has a professional record: of 19-6-0. Moçambe weighs 76.9 kg and has a height of 183 cm and a reach of 193 cm. The current #42 on the Welterweight worldwide chart won 3 of his last 5 fights and his most recent bout ended in a KO/TKO defeat to Khaos Williams a little over 7 months ago.
If there’s one aspect Santiago needs to be worried about in this fight, it is Harris’ submission game! Just one moment of inattention would be enough for Harris to take the fight to the ground where he has dominance. Knowing all these, let’s see how Santiago’s profile compares.
Santiago Ponzinibbio – Argentine Knockout Master
When someone names himself the “Argentine Dagger”, you know for sure he means business! Santiago can best be described as a knockout artist. Put in perspective, he has won 55% of his fights by KO/TKO. His professional record is 29-8-0 and unlike his opponent of the night, he made his UFC debut over 10 years ago (2013 precisely). In MMA, he debuted in 2008 and has ever since been paving his way though he has battled with lots of inconsistency in recent years.
Speaking of inconsistency, Santiago has won just 1 of his last 5 fights and is on a 2-loss streak (KO/TKO loss almost 2 years ago to Kevin Holland before losing again 5 months ago to Muslim Salikhov by a split decision). As of date, the “Argentine Dagger” is 38, weighs 77.6 kgs, with a height of 183 cm and a reach of 185 cm. He is #31 on the Worldwide Welterweight rankings chart and will be looking to move even further if he succeeds in overcoming Harris, but that won’t be an easy task.
The Prediction
It is quite clear here that Harris’ path to victory will be determined by his ability to take the “Argentine Dagger” to the ground. His takedown average stands at 1.97 compared to 0.59 for Santiago. If Santiago keeps the fight standing, it could be a short night for Harris. The power Santiago carries is undeniable and it could take just a single clean shot to end the bout.
Although Santiago has greater knockout power, interestingly enough, Harris has the better strike accuracy (49% vs 41%). Considering the fact that Harris won 5 of his fights by KP/TKO (26%), nothing tells us he won’t be a good match for Santiago if the fights stay standing. I’m backing Carlston to win this fight and the odds are around 1.952 for this market. To follow this prediction, register for a game2bet account now and start winning.
