A pair of middleweight prospects have been booked to face off at a UFC event in February.
BJPenn.com was first to report the news that Punahele Soriano will fight Nick Maximov on February 5 at a yet-to-be-announced UFC event. Soriano would confirm the booking via his Instagram story, with Maximov’s management confirming the fight as well.
Soriano (8-1) suffered his first professional loss in his last outing. That saw Brendan Allen defeat him via unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Dillashaw. Before that loss, the Hawaiian had returned from a year on the shelf in a devastating fashion when he knocked out Dusko Todorovic in January.
Maximov (7-0) was victorious in his octagon debut as he defeated Cody Brundage via unanimous decision at UFC 266 in September. Maximov competed on season four of Dana White’s Contender Series but didn’t receive a contract.
No location, venue, or broadcast plan has been officially announced for the February 5 event. No main event has been reported. The UFC’s February 5 Fight Night card currently breaks down as follows:
- Marc-André Barriault vs. Chidi Njokuani
- Jason Witt vs. Phil Rowe
- Miles Johns vs. John Castaneda
- Steven Peterson vs. Julian Erosa
- Ian Heinisch vs. Sam Alvey
- Michael Trizano vs. Hakeem Dawodu
- Bryan Battle vs. Tresean Gore
- Denys Bondar vs. Malcolm Gordon
- Danilo Marques vs. Jailton Almeida
- Punahele Soriano vs. Nick Maximov
