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Fighting has always been a worldwide sport with fighters from everywhere getting their shot to compete on the biggest stage.
The UFC has constantly welcomed fighters from everywhere always looking to expand their roster and their reach beyond North America.
There have been great fighters from every corner of the planet but for the most part, a few regions have always dominated.
The USA is the one place with the most fighters on the roster as the UFC began in the USA and grew in the USA.
In the USA wrestling has always been a major sport throughout high school and college but after college, there wasn’t much else to do.
Those wrestlers now see MMA as a chance to continue their athletic careers with a strong base in a key element to the sport.
Americans are followed closely by another country that has been a constant factor in every era of the UFC.
That is Brazil where the idea for MMA came from in order to prove that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was the best martial arts in the world.
Brazilians still have a strong presence throughout the UFC with multiple great fighters coming from the South American country.
Other places have provided great fighters including Great Britain and Ireland as well as places from Eastern Europe.
Nobody has been able to really take over like Brazil or the USA although there have always been waves of fighters from different areas to make an impression.
This week the UFC travelled to a new country in the hopes of capturing the beginning of a new wave of fighters.
Although Brazil has always been a feeder for the UFC with some of the greatest fighters of all time coming from the country there has not been much of a spread through the rest of South America.
The other countries in the region have never really been able to produce a lot of major contenders while Brazil continues to pump out major names.
That could be changing soon though as the UFC is seeing more and more fighters out of the regions that are outside of the one big MMA producer.
More fighters are coming out of places like Ecuador, Peru and Argentina leading to the potential of a new wave of great fighters.
Leading the way has been Santiago Ponzinibbio who has become the biggest name from South America outside of Brazil.
The Argentinian has been making noise recently and was a big reason for the UFC to head to his home country for the first time.
The UFC is always looking to head to new places and capture the imagination of the region or the country.
Whenever they do travel to a new place they always look to feature fighters from the country or close by.
Although UFC Fight Night 140 had its fair share of Brazilians thanks to the proximity to the country they also featured fighters from other areas.
Of course, their main event was going to feature the biggest name in Argentinian MMA as Ponzinibbio would get his first shot at competing in front of a home crowd.
With six straight wins under his, belt Ponzinibbio is looking for that title shot in a division that is among one of the most talented in the UFC.
He was looking to announce that he was ready to take that step and to do that he would have to beat UFC veteran Neil Magny.
From the start of the fight, Ponzinibbio began chipping away on the feet as he hurt Magny early but didn’t finish him off.
A left jab had Magny pawing at his eye throughout the rest of the fight while leg kicks had Magny limping from the second round on.
It wasn’t a usual fight for Ponzinibbio as he was a little less aggressive choosing instead to pick apart and slowly build the lead.
Eventually, in the fourth round, he broke down the veteran landing a big right hook that dropped Magny for good.
The win was a big one for Ponzinibbio as he did it in front of his home crowd for the first time ever.
He made an impression as it wasn’t quick but it was dominant as he beat a good fighter and picked him apart in the stand-up game.
It could be the fight that launches him into the title conversation but that is a tough task in the welterweight division.