Rivalries: Punahele Soriano

Punahele Soriano feeds on the ever-present threat of sudden violence.

The brick-fisted Hawaiian will attempt to build some meaningful momentum in the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight division when he squares off with Uros Medic in a featured UFC Fight Night 249 attraction on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Soriano, 32, has lost four of his past six bouts. However, he made a successful first cut to 170 pounds on June 8, when he neutralized and outstruck Miguel Baeza to a unanimous decision in their three-round clash at UFC on ESPN 57.

As Soriano makes final preparations for his forthcoming encounter with Medic, a look at a few of the rivalries that have helped shape his career to this point:

Jamie Pickett

Soriano remained undefeated and laid claim to a unanimous decision over “The Nightwolf” as part of Week 1 of Dana White’s Contender Series on June 18, 2019 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Scores were 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26. Afterward, Soriano received an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract. Pickett had his moments, but they were too few and far between to matter much. Soriano had the North Carolinian reeling late in the first round, where he cut loose with a wave of power punches and appeared to have a finish in sight. Pickett survived and extended the match, forcing his Hawaiian counterpart to work harder than he wanted. Soriano struck for a takedown in Round 3, shut down a kimura attempt and settled in top position with some effective ground-and-pound to punctuate his performance.

Brendan Allen

The former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion on leaned on a sustained body attack and captured a unanimous decision from the previously unbeaten Soriano in their featured UFC on ESPN 27 prelim on July 24, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three members of the judiciary sided with Allen: 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28. Soriano swung for the fences but came up empty far too often. Allen chewed up the heavy-handed Hawaiian with brutal body kicks and sneaky punches to the midsection, turning him into a mostly stationary target midway through the match. Despite the visible effects of fatigue, Soriano sent spit flying with a clean left hook in the third round but failed to string together offense in more than one-punch bursts. Allen continued to zero on the body with kicks while mixing in multi-punch combinations and occasional knees to the head, doing more than enough to curry the necessary favor on the scorecards.

Dalcha Lungiambula

Soriano unleashed his radioactive power and netted the desired results when he put away the former two-division Extreme Fighting Championship titleholder with punches in the second round of their featured UFC on ABC 3 prelim on July 16, 2022 at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York. Lungiambula succumbed to blows 28 seconds into Round 2. Soriano waded through considerable difficulty to arrive at the finish line. Lungiambula battered his lead leg with kicks, executed a pair of takedowns and racked up some control time in the first round. However, his success was short-lived. Soriano staggered him with a counter left hook over the top early in the second round, backed it up with a vicious right uppercut and sealed the deal with a burst of follow-up punches on his prone adversary.

Dustin Stoltzfus

The Frankers Fight Team standout dispatched Soriano with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their UFC on ESPN 52 middleweight showcase on Dec. 2, 2023 at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. Stoltzfus prompted the tapout 4:10 into Round 2, becoming the first man to best the Hawaiian by submission. Soriano struggled to mount much in terms of volume in the standup exchanges and failed to defend takedowns. Operating in the shadows of the Beneil Dariush-Arman Tsarukyan main event, Stoltzfus grounded him once in the first round and three times in the second. He eventually progressed to the back, cinched the choke and let his squeeze do the rest.