'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
One of the biggest fight promotions in the world, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), travels to the heavenly city of Buenos Aires, Argentina this Saturday night.
Argentina will become the 3rd country in South America to host UFC, after Chile and Brazil. Held in Arena Parque Roca, UFC Fight Night 140: Buenos Aires will be the country's first UFC event. The country will become the 24th country in the world to host the fight promotion in the 25 years of its existence.
Santiago Ponzinibbio is scheduled to face Neil Magny in his home country, headlining the event. With both fighters coming into the bout on the back of a winning streak, it will be an interesting fight, which will have the locals riled up.
The co-headliner of the night will have Ricardo Lamas face off against Darren Elkins in a fight which is sure to be a challenge for both fighters.
In this article, we will take a detailed look at each of the fights on the main card and figure out what to expect from the card. Before that, however, let's take a look at the UFC Fight Night 140 card for preliminary and early preliminary fights.
Early Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass):
Nad Narimani vs. Anderson dos Santos
Devin Powell vs. Jesus Pinedo
Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1):
Laureano Staropoli vs. Hector Aldana
Humberto Bandenay vs. Austin Arnett
Alexandre Pantoja vs. Ulka Sasaki
Michel Prazeres vs. Bartosz Fabiński
Main Card (Fox Sports 1)
#6 Cynthia Calvillo vs. Poliana Botelho
In the first fight of the main card, the American fighter, Cynthia Calvillo takes on Brazilian mixed martial artist Poliana Botelho.
Poliana Botelho is on an amazing run. With a record of 7-1, she has won her last five fights in a row, with the last two of those being in the UFC. Now, with an impressive record to back her up, she will be hoping to beat Calvillo in a fight which sees her opponent try to return from her last loss.
Calvillo has fought in 7 different fights in her career and has made a habit of winning -- a habit that was brought to a swift end with her last night which saw her 6-fight winning streak come to an end.
After three successful fights in the UFC, her last one ended badly as Carla Esparza dominated her and won via Unanimous Decision.
#5 Guido Cannetti vs. Marlon Vera
Cannetti's recent run in the UFC has been anything but impressive. His inconsistency was put on display when he lost two out of her four UFC fights. Having to submit to Kyung Ho Kang really hurt his chances, but since then he has bounced back with a win over Diego Rivas via Unanimous Decision earlier this year in May.
The confidence from the win should help to tide him over when he faced Marlon Vera at UFC Argentina. Vera has had a long career in the UFC by now and has established a trend of losing critical fights. He lost his debut, and then on the back of a three-fight winning run lost to John Linekar.
His last win against Wuliji Buren gave him some momentum heading into this fight.
#4 Cezar Ferreira vs. Ian Heinisch
Brazilian fighter Cezar Ferreira is on a sort of a streak heading into UFC Argentina, as he has won the last two fights he was in impressively. He defeated Karl Roberson at UFC 224 via an arm triangle choke and will be looking to build on it to make his streak more impressive.
On the other side of things, Heinisch has suffered only a single loss in his 12-fight career. With a three-fight winning streak. He impressed in his last fight which took place on Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series.
A win for Heinisch will help establish him in the UFC.
#3 Khalil Rountree Jr. vs. Johnny Walker
Although Rountree's debut in the UFC did not really go his way with two back-to-back losses in his first two fights, he has the opportunity to make things better now. His run of three wins now is an impressive one, with his one loss against Michał Oleksiejczuk being overturned due to his opponent testing positive in the post-fight drug test. A win here will make his run in the UFC a formidable one, and possibly put him in line for a future title shot.
On the other hand, Johnny Walker is only making his entry into the UFC. He is on a truly impressive run, with 6 back-to-back wins, with all but one of his fights ending in stoppages.
Having impressed in his Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series outing, it is up to him now to win against Rountree and continue to extend his streak now at the highest level.
#2 Ricardo Lamas vs. Darren Elkins
Ricardo Lamas and Darren Elkins are set to square off against each other at UFC Argentina as the co-headliner of the night. The two fighters have both established themselves in the UFC, and a win for either fighter here will be big.
Both men are coming into this fight on the back of a loss. Lamas has not had the best run as he has fallen from being a title contender to two back-to-back losses against John Emmett and Mirsad Bektic. A win is crucial for his confidence at the moment and to prepare to make any sort of comeback in the UFC.
Elkins lost his last fight after a six-fight win streak. He lost to undefeated UFC fighter Alexander Volkanovski. A win here will set him back on course heading to the title he is destined to fight for eventually.
#1 Neil Magny vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio
Magny vs. Ponzinibbio is set to headline UFC Argentina and be the chief attraction for the event. Ponzinibbio will be representing Argentina when he takes on the American Neil Magny.
Ponzinibbio has had an impressive six-fight run which looks like it could develop into something big. With an equal number of knockouts and decision wins in his last six fights, it is anyone's guess how this fight with Magny will go.
Ponzinibbio could very well end up being the one fighter who could pose a huge problem in the path of Magny's road to redemption. With two losses in his last five fights, Magny will be hoping that his fight with Ponzinibbio will help him to continue his two-fight win streak and further extend it.
Headlining the UFC Fight Night 140 card, Ponzinibbio will be the clear favourite among the crowd and Magny will have to battle through boos if he is to collect a win here.
