| Punahele Soriano | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 22, 1992 Wailua, Kauai County, Hawaii, U.S. |
| Other names | Puna Story Time |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb) |
| Division | Heavyweight Middleweight Welterweight |
| 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 | 15 |
| Wins | 11 |
| By knockout | 7 |
| By submission | 2 |
| By decision | 2 |
| Losses | 4 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 2 |
| Other information | |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Punahele Soriano (born November 22, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2017, he has also fought in the PFL and Titan FC.
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]
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]
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 faced Uroš Medić on January 11, 2025 at UFC Fight Night 249. [33] He won the fight by knockout early in the first round. [34]
| 15 matches | 11 wins | 4 losses |
| By knockout | 7 | 1 |
| By submission | 2 | 1 |
| By decision | 2 | 2 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 11–4 | Uroš Medić | KO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Ribas 2 | January 11, 2025 | 1 | 0:31 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| 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. |