Santiago Ponzinibbio will make his return after over a year away from action.
Ponzinibbio (30-9 MMA, 12-8 UFC) takes on Sam Patterson (14-3-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC) in a welterweight bout at UFC Fight Night 282 on July 25 at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi (Paramount+), promotion officials announced Friday morning.
American Top Team’s Ponzinibbio hasn’t competed since a TKO loss to Daniel Rodriguez at UFC on ESPN 67 in May 2025. Prior to that, he knocked out Carlston Harris at UFC Fight Night 249. The 39-year-old Argentinian was scheduled to face Vicente Luque at UFC Fight Night 261 this past October, but withdrew due to injury.
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England’s Patterson is coming off a lackluster unanimous decision loss to Michael Page at UFC Fight Night 270 in March. The setback snapped his four-fight, first-round finish streak.
The latest UFC Fight Night 282 lineup now includes:
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Thomas Petersen vs. Valter Walker
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Rizvan Kuniev vs. Tyrell Fortune
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Ismael Bonfim vs. Axel Sola
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Brendson Ribeiro vs. Magomed Tuchalov
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Steve Erceg vs. Ramazan Temirov
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Magomedrasul Gasanov vs. Abubakar Vagaev
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Islam Dulatov vs. Wellington Turman
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Damian Rzepecki vs. Magomed Zaynukov
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Sam Patterson vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Santiago Ponzinibbio returns against Sam Patterson at UFC Abu Dhabi
