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UFC fighter Santiago Ponzinibbio recently defended his fellow countryman Lionel Messi, after professional boxer Canelo Alvarez took aim at the football superstar.
'Argentine Dagger' stated that he is willing to fight the boxer on behalf of Messi and was offended by the Mexican's comments.
Alvarez mistakenly thought Messi was cleaning the floor with a Mexican shirt after the two countries had played during the World Cup. The boxer had some strong words for the footballer, saying that the Argentine "should ask God" that the Mexican doesn't find him.
In response to these strong words, UFC fighter Santiago Ponzinibbio was furious while talking to MMA Fighting and even offered to fight the Mexican after speaking to Lionel Messi in such a manor:
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"No point threatening Messi. Everybody knows Messi’s career. If (Alvarez) doesn’t know he shouldn’t say a thing. It’s normal for players to throw jerseys on the ground, they are all sweaty, but he didn’t do anything disrespectful."
He continued:
"I was upset. Brother, if you want to fight, I’m ready, but leave Messi be. You mess with Messi, you mess with the entire Argentina."
Since his initial message to Lionel Messi, Canelo Alvarez has since apologized to the footballer and is seemingly regretful for reacting in the way that he did. Alvarez stated that he got "carried away" in his message and was sorry for what he had said to Messi:
Who is Santiago Ponzinibbio and why is he defending Lionel Messi?
If you're not an avid MMA or UFC fan, Santiago Ponzinibbio might not be a name you're familiar with. However, Ponzinibbio has an impressive 10-5 record in the UFC and is scheduled to face MMA legend Robbie Lawler at UFC 282: Błachowicz vs. Ankalaev later this year.
Ponzinibbio was defending Lionel Messi due to the two sportsmen both representing Argentina, with the fighter's nickname being 'Argentine Dagger' and Ponzinibbio is of course patriotic towards his country.
The 36-year-old is currently on a two-fight losing streak in the UFC, meaning he very much needs to beat Lawler in his next outing to avoid any awkward conversations with the organization. A three-fight losing streak has often led to fighters being cut by the UFC, but given Santiago Ponzinibbio's record in the organization, he should still be fine.
Watch highlights of Santiago Ponzinibbio here:
Robbie Lawler is also on a losing streak, with Bryan Barberena getting the better of the legend at UFC 276: Adesanya vs. Cannonier and most recently beat Nick Diaz two fights ago.
