Wikipedia

Punahele Soriano

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

Punahele Soriano
Born (1992-11-22) November 22, 1992 (age 32)
Wailua, Kauai County, Hawaii, U.S.
Other namesPuna
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
DivisionHeavyweight
Middleweight
Welterweight
Reach72 in (183 cm)[1]
Fighting out ofO‘ahu, Hawaii
TeamXtreme Couture
RankBrown belt in Judo[2]
WrestlingNCAA Division III Wrestling[3]
Years active2017–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total14
Wins10
By knockout6
By submission2
By decision2
Losses4
By knockout1
By submission1
By decision2
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Background

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As a senior at Kahuku High School in Laie, Hawaii, on the North Shore of Oahu, Soriano was the 171-pound state wrestling 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.[4][3][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

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Early career

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Soriano compiled an amateur record of 4–0, from 2015 until 2016.[7] After making his professional debut in Hawaii on January 28, 2017, at X-1 World Events 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.[8]

Soriano faced Rafael Celestino on April 6, 2019, at Titan FC 49. He won the bout via knockout in under a minute.[9]

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.[10]

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.[11]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

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Soriano made his UFC debut against Oskar Piechota on December 14, 2019, at UFC 245.[12] He won the fight via knockout in the first round.[13]

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.[14]

Soriano was scheduled to face Anthony Hernandez on June 26, 2021, at UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Volkov.[15] 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.[16] 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.[17] Soriano lost the fight via unanimous decision.[18]

Soriano faced Nick Maximov on February 5, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 200.[19] He lost the fight via split decision.[20] 12 out of 16 media scores gave it to Maximov.[21]

Soriano faced Dalcha Lungiambula on July 16, 2022 at UFC on ABC 3.[22] He won the fight via knockout in the second round.[23] This win earned Soriano his first Performance of the Night bonus award.[24]

Soriano faced Roman Kopylov on January 14, 2023 at UFC Fight Night 217.[25] He lost the fight via technical knockout in the second round.[26]

Soriano was scheduled to face Sedriques Dumas on June 24, 2023 at UFC on ABC 5.[27] However, on June 15 it was announced that Soriano pulled out due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Cody Brundage.[28]

Soriano faced Dustin Stoltzfus on December 2, 2023, at UFC on ESPN 52.[29] He lost the fight via rear-naked choke in round two.[30]

Soriano faced Miguel Baeza in his welterweight division debut on June 8, 2024 at UFC on ESPN 57.[31] After landing a record number of ground strikes, he won the fight by unanimous decision.[32]

Soriano is scheduled to face Uroš Medić on January 11, 2025 at UFC Fight Night 249.[33]

Championships and accomplishments

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Mixed martial arts record

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Professional record breakdown
14 matches 10 wins 4 losses
By knockout 6 1
By submission 2 1
By decision 2 2
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 10–4 Miguel Baeza Decision (unanimous) UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Imavov June 8, 2024 3 5:00 Louisville, Kentucky, United States Welterweight debut.
Loss 9–4 Dustin Stoltzfus Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC on ESPN: Dariush vs. Tsarukyan December 2, 2023 2 4:10 Austin, Texas, United States
Loss 9–3 Roman Kopylov TKO (body kick and punches) UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs. Imavov January 14, 2023 2 3:19 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 9–2 Dalcha Lungiambula KO (punches) UFC on ABC: Ortega vs. Rodríguez July 16, 2022 2 0:28 Elmont, New York, United States Performance of the Night.
Loss 8–2 Nick Maximov Decision (split) UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Strickland February 5, 2022 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
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) LFA 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, 2018 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: Live January 28, 2017 1 2:20 Honolulu, Hawaii, United States Heavyweight debut.

[38]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Stats | UFC". ufcstats.com. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  2. ^ "Punahele Soriano | UFC". UFC.com. July 5, 2019. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Ex-Wartburg All-American Soriano earns UFC contract". InterMat. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  4. ^ jim.nelson@wcfcourier.com, JIM NELSON (March 14, 2013). "Wartburg's 'Puna' has learned to love the snow". Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  5. ^ "Punahele Soriano - Wrestling". Wartburg College Athletics. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  6. ^ "DWCS: Meet the undefeated contract winner Punahele Soriano". FanSided. June 20, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  7. ^ "Punahele Soriano ("Puna") | MMA Fighter Page".
  8. ^ Lee, Alexander K. (July 29, 2017). "PFL: Everett Results: Harrison vs. Rodriguez". MMA Fighting. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  9. ^ "Titan FC 49 Results: Soares Stuns and Submits Gomez, Wins Featherweight Title". Combat Press. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  10. ^ "LFA 52 Results & Highlights: Submissions Were the Order of the Night | MMAWeekly.com". October 20, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  11. ^ MMA, LowKick (June 19, 2019). "Dana White's Contender Series 17 Results: Two Fighters Earn Contracts". LowKickMMA.com. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  12. ^ "Twee nieuwe gevechten toegevoegd aan UFC 245 in Las Vegas". MMA DNA. September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
  13. ^ Shillan, Keith (December 14, 2019). "UFC 245 Results: Punahele Soriano Brutally Knocks Out Oskar Piechota in the First Round". Cageside Press. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  14. ^ Anderson, Jay (January 16, 2021). "UFC Fight Island 7 Results: Punahele Soriano Drops Dusko Todorovic Repeatedly, Remains Perfect". Cageside Press. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  15. ^ John Morgan and Nolan King (March 18, 2021). "Anthony Hernandez vs. Punahele Soriano set for UFC Fight Night in June". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  16. ^ Mike Bohn (April 9, 2020). "Kevin Holland replaces Puna Soriano, meets Anthony Hernandez on UFC's May 16 card". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  17. ^ Mike Heck (May 25, 2020). "With Anthony Hernandez out, Puna Soriano now meets Brendan Allen at UFC event on July 24". mmafighting.com. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  18. ^ Anderson, Jay (July 24, 2021). "UFC Vegas 32 Results: Brendan Allen's Body Work Key in Win Over Soriano". Cageside Press. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  19. ^ Behunin, Alex (November 13, 2021). "Punahele Soriano and Nick Maximov Will Face off at UFC Event on Feb. 5". Cageside Press. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  20. ^ Anderson, Jay (February 5, 2022). "UFC Vegas 47: Nick Maximov Takes Close Split Decision Against Punahele Soriano". Cageside Press. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  21. ^ "Nick Maximov def. Punahele Soriano :: UFC on ESPN+ 58 :: MMA Decisions". www.mmadecisions.com. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  22. ^ Anderson, Jay (June 1, 2022). "UFC Long Island Set to Air on ABC, Multiple Fights Announced for July 16 Event". Cageside Press. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  23. ^ Behunin, Alex (July 16, 2022). "UFC Long Island: Punahele Soriano Knocks Out Former Teammate Dalcha Lungiambula". Cageside Press. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  24. ^ a b Kristen King (July 16, 2022). "UFC Long Island post-fight bonuses: Matt Schnell's all-time comeback nets him $50,000". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  25. ^ Bartłomiej Zubkiewicz (November 18, 2022). "Punahele Soriano kontra Roman Kopylov na styczniowej gali UFC Vegas 67". mmarocks.pl. Retrieved November 18, 2022. (in Polish)
  26. ^ Val Dewar (January 14, 2023). "UFC Vegas 67: Roman Kopylov Harnesses Body Shots to TKO Punahele Soriano". Cageside Press. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  27. ^ Arshad (April 21, 2023). "Punahele Soriano vs Sedriques Dumas Set for UFC Jacksonville". www.itnwwe.com. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  28. ^ Damon Martin (June 15, 2023). "Punahele Soriano out; Cody Brundage steps in to face Sedriques Dumas at UFC Jacksonville". mmafighting.com. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  29. ^ Heck, Mike (September 20, 2023). "Punahele Soriano vs. Dustin Stoltzfus set for Dec. 2 UFC event". MMA Fighting. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  30. ^ Morehouse, Cade (December 3, 2023). "UFC Austin: Dustin Stoltzfus Bounces Back with Sub of Punahele Soriano". Cageside Press. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  31. ^ Heck, Mike (April 11, 2024). "Punahele Soriano moves to 170, welcomes Miguel Baeza back at June 8 UFC event". MMA Fighting. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  32. ^ Anderson, Jay (June 9, 2024). "UFC Louisville: Punahele Soriano Overpowers Miguel Baeza in 170lb Debut". Cageside Press. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  33. ^ Nikola Novaković (October 12, 2024). "Uroš Medić se vraća u UFC oktagon: Rivala mu dobro poznajemo" (in Serbian). n1info.rs. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  34. ^ "Record Book - All Division - Fight Stats - UFC". statleaders.ufc.com. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  35. ^ a b c d "Record Book - Welterweight Fight Stats - UFC". statleaders.ufc.com. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  36. ^ "UFC on ESPN 57 post-event facts: Punahele Soriano sets multiple new all-time UFC records". MMA Junkie. June 9, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  37. ^ "Record Book - All Division - Round Stats - UFC". statleaders.ufc.com. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  38. ^ "Punahele Soriano". Sherdog. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
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