Punahele Soriano

Punahele Soriano
Born	(1992-11-22) November 22, 1992 (age 31) Wailua, Kauai County, Hawaii, U.S.
Other names	Puna
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Division	Heavyweight Middleweight
Reach	72 in (183 cm) [1]
Fighting out of	O‘ahu, Hawaii
Team	Xtreme Couture
Rank	Brown belt in Judo [2]
Wrestling	NCAA Division III Wrestling [3]
Years active	2017–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total	14
Wins	10
By knockout	6
By submission	2
By decision	2
Losses	4
By knockout	1
By submission	1
By decision	2
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Punahele Soriano (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 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

Early career

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

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 many ground strikes, he won the fight by unanimous decision. ^[32]

Championships and accomplishments

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Dalcha Lungiambula ^[24]
  • Most significant ground strikes landed in a bout in UFC history (136) (vs. Miguel Baeza) ^[33]
    • Most significant ground strikes landed in a UFC welterweight bout (136) (vs. Miguel Baeza) ^[34]
    • Most total ground strikes landed in a UFC welterweight bout (317) (vs. Miguel Baeza) ^[34]
  • Second most total strikes landed in a UFC welterweight bout (331) (vs. Miguel Baeza) ^[34]
  • Highest significant strike differential in a UFC welterweight bout (+137) (vs. Miguel Baeza) ^[34]
  • Highest strike differential for total strikes in a 3-round UFC bout (+309) (vs. Miguel Baeza)

Mixed martial arts record

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.

^[35]

See also

• List of current UFC fighters
• List of male mixed martial artists

References

1. "Stats | UFC". ufcstats.com. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
2. "Punahele Soriano | UFC". UFC.com. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
3. "Ex-Wartburg All-American Soriano earns UFC contract". InterMat. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
4. [e-mail], JIM NELSON. "Wartburg's 'Puna' has learned to love the snow". Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. 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. https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/fighters/119534-punahele-soriano-story-time
8. Lee, Alexander K. (2017-07-29). "PFL: Everett Results: Harrison vs. Rodriguez". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
9. "Titan FC 49 Results: Soares Stuns and Submits Gomez, Wins Featherweight Title". Combat Press. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
10. "LFA 52 Results & Highlights: Submissions Were the Order of the Night | MMAWeekly.com". 2018-10-20. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
11. MMA, LowKick (2019-06-19). "Dana White's Contender Series 17 Results: Two Fighters Earn Contracts". LowKickMMA.com. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
12. "Twee nieuwe gevechten toegevoegd aan UFC 245 in Las Vegas". MMA DNA. 27 September 2019. Retrieved 2019-09-28.
13. 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.
14. Anderson, Jay (2021-01-16). "UFC Fight Island 7 Results: Punahele Soriano Drops Dusko Todorovic Repeatedly, Remains Perfect". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
15. 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.
16. 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.
17. 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.
18. 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.
19. 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.
20. Anderson, Jay (2022-02-05). "UFC Vegas 47: Nick Maximov Takes Close Split Decision Against Punahele Soriano". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
21. "Nick Maximov def. Punahele Soriano :: UFC on ESPN+ 58 :: MMA Decisions". www.mmadecisions.com. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
22. Anderson, Jay (2022-06-01). "UFC Long Island Set to Air on ABC, Multiple Fights Announced for July 16 Event". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
23. Behunin, Alex (2022-07-16). "UFC Long Island: Punahele Soriano Knocks Out Former Teammate Dalcha Lungiambula". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
24. Kristen King (2022-07-16). "UFC Long Island post-fight bonuses: Matt Schnell's all-time comeback nets him $50,000". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
25. Bartłomiej Zubkiewicz (2022-11-18). "Punahele Soriano kontra Roman Kopylov na styczniowej gali UFC Vegas 67". mmarocks.pl. Retrieved 2022-11-18.(in Polish)
26. Val Dewar (2023-01-14). "UFC Vegas 67: Roman Kopylov Harnesses Body Shots to TKO Punahele Soriano". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
27. Arshad (2023-04-21). "Punahele Soriano vs Sedriques Dumas Set for UFC Jacksonville". www.itnwwe.com. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
28. Damon Martin (2023-06-15). "Punahele Soriano out; Cody Brundage steps in to face Sedriques Dumas at UFC Jacksonville". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
29. Heck, Mike (2023-09-20). "Punahele Soriano vs. Dustin Stoltzfus set for Dec. 2 UFC event". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
30. Morehouse, Cade (2023-12-03). "UFC Austin: Dustin Stoltzfus Bounces Back with Sub of Punahele Soriano". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
31. Heck, Mike (2024-04-11). "Punahele Soriano moves to 170, welcomes Miguel Baeza back at June 8 UFC event". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
32. Anderson, Jay (2024-06-09). "UFC Louisville: Punahele Soriano Overpowers Miguel Baeza in 170lb Debut". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
33. "Record Book - All Division - Fight Stats - UFC". statleaders.ufc.com. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
34. "Record Book - Welterweight Fight Stats - UFC". statleaders.ufc.com. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
35. "Punahele Soriano". Sherdog. Retrieved 2021-06-28.

External links

• Professional MMA record for Punahele Soriano from Sherdog
• Punahele Soriano at UFC