Punahele Soriano

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.

Punahele Soriano
BornPunahele Michael Soriano[1]
(1992-11-22) November 22, 1992
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
RankBrown belt in Judo[3]
WrestlingNCAA Division III Wrestling[4]
Years active2017–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total12
Wins9
By knockout6
By submission2
By decision1
Losses3
By knockout1
By decision2
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Background

As a senior at Kahuku High School in Laie, 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.[5][4][6]

Soriano's interest in MMA started through friend and current UFC fighter Dan Ige, who invited Soriano to help train MMA fighters in wrestling.[7]

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

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 is scheduled to face Dustin Stoltzfuson December 2, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 233.[29]


Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown
12 matches 9 wins 3 losses
By knockout 6 1
By submission 2 0
By decision 1 2
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
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) 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, 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 January 28, 2017 1 2:20 Honolulu, Hawaii, United States Heavyweight debut.

[30]

See also

References
  1. "Mixed martial arts show results" (PDF). July 24, 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  2. "Stats | UFC". ufcstats.com. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  3. "Punahele Soriano | UFC". UFC.com. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  4. "Ex-Wartburg All-American Soriano earns UFC contract". InterMat. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  5. jim.nelson@wcfcourier.com, JIM NELSON. "Wartburg's 'Puna' has learned to love the snow". Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  6. "Punahele Soriano - Wrestling". Wartburg College Athletics. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  7. "DWCS: Meet the undefeated contract winner Punahele Soriano". FanSided. 2019-06-20. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  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. "Punahele Soriano". Sherdog. Retrieved 2021-06-28.
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