Punahele Soriano weighs in ahead of his fight at UFC Fight Island 7.
Punahele Soriano vs. Anthony Hernandez set for UFC Fight Night this summer
A highly-intriguing middleweight bout between Punahele Soriano and Anthony Hernandez is set to take place at a UFC Fight Night card this summer.
MMAjunkie.com was the first to report that the Soriano vs. Hernandez bout was in the works for June 26. It’s a fight between Dana White’s Contender Series alum, as both fighters first made their mark on the show to get their shot in the UFC. Both fighters are coming off of stoppage wins in their last fight, so the winner of this bout could take a serious step forward at 185lbs. It seems likely that this fight will determine who gets a chance at the top-15. It’s worth noting Soriano and Hernandez were previously booked to meet at a UFC card in May 2020.
Soriano (8-0) has been a professional since 2017 and he has since then racked up eight wins in promotions including the UFC, LFA, Titan FC, and PFL. The 28-year-old Hawaii native got his chance at the big show when he defeated Jamie Pickett on DWCS in June 2016. That win earned him a contract from UFC president Dana White, and he made good on it when he KOed Oskar Piechota at UFC 245 in December 2019. After missing all of 2020, Soriano returned in January 2021 and picked up a brutal knockout win over Dusko Todorovic.
Hernandez (7-2) has had mixed success so far in the UFC. The 27-year-old American finished Jordan Wright on DWCS to get his shot in the UFC, but that fight was overturned to a No Contest due to a positive test for marijuana. Hernandez then made his UFC debut in February 2019, getting submitted by Markus Perez via anaconda choke. He then proceeded to submit Jun Yong Park with the same choke in his next fight, before losing to Kevin Holland. Most recently, Hernandez picked up an upset win when he finished Rodolfo Vieira at UFC 258.
Who do you think takes this middleweight bout between Punahele Soriano and Anthony Hernandez?
