Punahele Soriano

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Punahele Soriano
BornPunahele Michael Soriano[1]
(1992-11-22) November 22, 1992 (age 29)
Wailua, Kauai County, Hawaii
Other namesPuna
NationalityAmerican
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
DivisionMiddleweight
Reach72.0 in (183 cm)[2]
Fighting out ofO‘ahu, Hawaii
TeamXtreme Couture
Years active2017–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total9
Wins8
By knockout5
By submission2
By decision1
Losses1
By decision1
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Punahele Michael Soriano[1] (born November 22, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Background[]

As a senior at Kahuku High School in Waialua, Hawaii, on the North Shore of Oahu, Soriano was the 171-pound state champion, after placing third in the state as a junior. In addition to being a high school state champion in wrestling, he was a high school state judo champion. He went on to wrestle Division-III at Wartburg College in Iowa, where he earned All-America honors at the 2014 NCAAs by placing seventh in the 197-pound bracket, in the process becoming the first qualifier from Hawaii.[3][4][5]

Soriano's interest in MMA started through friend and current UFC fighter Dan Ige, who invited Soriano to help train MMA fighters in wrestling.[6]

Mixed martial arts career[]

Early career[]

After making his professional debut in Hawaii on January 28, 2017, at X-1 World Evetns 45, and getting a first-round submission win, Soriano made his Middleweight and mainland debut on July 29, 2017, at PFL Everett against Jon Gover. He won the bout via first-round TKO.[7]

Soriano faced Rafael Celestino on April 6, 2019, at Titan FC 49. He won the bout via knockout in under a minute.[8]

After picking up a TKO win in just 45 seconds at V3 Fights 69 against James Horne, Soriano faced Jhonoven Pati on October 19, 2018, at LFA 52. He won the bout via a first-round rear-naked choke.[9]

Soriano was invited onto Dana White's Contender Series 17 on June 18, 2019, where he faced Jamie Pickett. He won the bout via unanimous decision, getting a UFC contract in the process and going past the first round for the first time in his MMA career.[10]

Ultimate Fighting Championship[]

Soriano made his UFC debut against Oskar Piechota on December 14, 2019, at UFC 245.[11] He won the fight via knockout in the first round.[12]

Soriano faced fellow undefeated DWCS alumni Duško Todorović on January 16, 2021, at UFC on ABC: Holloway vs. Kattar. He won the bout, getting the TKO at the end of the first round.[13]

Soriano was scheduled to face Anthony Hernandez on June 26, 2021, at UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Volkov.[14] The pairing was previously scheduled to take place in May 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Overeem vs. Harris, but Soriano pulled out due to undisclosed reasons.[15] In turn, Hernandez pulled out in late May due to a hand injury and was replaced by Brendan Allen, with the new matchup taking place a month later at UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Dillashaw.[16] Soriano lost the fight via unanimous decision.[17]

Soriano is scheduled to face Nick Maximov on February 5, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 201.[18]

Mixed martial arts record[]

Professional record breakdown
9 matches 8 wins 1 loss
By knockout 5 0
By submission 2 0
By decision 1 1
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 8–1 Brendan Allen Decision (unanimous) UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Dillashaw July 24, 2021 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 8–0 Duško Todorović TKO (punches) UFC on ABC: Holloway vs. Kattar January 16, 2021 1 4:48 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Win 7–0 Oskar Piechota KO (punch) UFC 245 December 14, 2019 1 3:17 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 6–0 Jamie Pickett Decision (unanimous) Dana White's Contender Series 17 June 18, 2019 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 5–0 Jhonoven Pati Submission (rear-naked choke) Legacy Fighting Alliance 52 October 19, 2018 1 3:36 Belton, Texas, United States
Win 4–0 James Horne TKO (punches) V3 Fights 69 June 16, 2018 1 0:45 Memphis, Tennessee, United States
Win 3–0 Rafael Celestino KO (punches) Titan FC 49 April 6, 2019 1 0:31 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States
Win 2–0 Jon Gover TKO (punches) PFL Everett July 29, 2017 1 2:36 Everett, Washington, United States Middleweight debut.
Win 1–0 Jon Ferrell Submission (rear-naked choke) X-1 World Events 45 January 28, 2017 1 2:20 Honolulu, Hawaii, United States Heavyweight debut.

[19]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Mixed martial arts show results" (PDF). July 24, 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Stats | UFC". ufcstats.com. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  3. ^ jim.nelson@wcfcourier.com, JIM NELSON. "Wartburg's 'Puna' has learned to love the snow". Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  4. ^ "Ex-Wartburg All-American Soriano earns UFC contract". InterMat. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  5. ^ "Punahele Soriano - Wrestling". Wartburg College Athletics. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  6. ^ "DWCS: Meet the undefeated contract winner Punahele Soriano". FanSided. 2019-06-20. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  7. ^ Lee, Alexander K. (2017-07-29). "PFL: Everett Results: Harrison vs. Rodriguez". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  8. ^ "Titan FC 49 Results: Soares Stuns and Submits Gomez, Wins Featherweight Title". Combat Press. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  9. ^ "LFA 52 Results & Highlights: Submissions Were the Order of the Night | MMAWeekly.com". 2018-10-20. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  10. ^ MMA, LowKick (2019-06-19). "Dana White's Contender Series 17 Results: Two Fighters Earn Contracts". LowKickMMA.com. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  11. ^ "Twee nieuwe gevechten toegevoegd aan UFC 245 in Las Vegas". MMA DNA. Retrieved 2019-09-28.
  12. ^ Shillan, Keith (2019-12-14). "UFC 245 Results: Punahele Soriano Brutally Knocks Out Oskar Piechota in the First Round". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2019-12-15.
  13. ^ Anderson, Jay (2021-01-16). "UFC Fight Island 7 Results: Punahele Soriano Drops Dusko Todorovic Repeatedly, Remains Perfect". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
  14. ^ John Morgan and Nolan King (2021-03-18). "Anthony Hernandez vs. Punahele Soriano set for UFC Fight Night in June". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
  15. ^ Mike Bohn (2020-04-09). "Kevin Holland replaces Puna Soriano, meets Anthony Hernandez on UFC's May 16 card". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
  16. ^ Mike Heck (2020-05-25). "With Anthony Hernandez out, Puna Soriano now meets Brendan Allen at UFC event on July 24". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  17. ^ Anderson, Jay (2021-07-24). "UFC Vegas 32 Results: Brendan Allen's Body Work Key in Win Over Soriano". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  18. ^ Behunin, Alex (2021-11-13). "Punahele Soriano and Nick Maximov Will Face off at UFC Event on Feb. 5". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
  19. ^ "Punahele Soriano". Sherdog. Retrieved 2021-06-28.

External links[]

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