In his second run with the promotion, Sean Soriano was still looking to secure his first victory inside the octagon.
Saturday at UFC Vegas 43, the featherweight, whose first run in the promotion had seen him go 0-3 in 2014-2015, was paired up with China’s Shayilan Nuerdanbieke. The 27-year old veteran of WLF and Kunlun Fight was also seeking his first UFC win, after dropping his debut in his last outing.
Not much of a feeling out process in the first round as Soriano turned up the pressure right out of the gate. The two exchanged some kicks, but there wasn’t much in the way of heavy damage landing flush early on. About a minute and a half in Nuerdanbieke landed a blow downstairs on Soriano, and we got a short break courtesy of Herb Dean. On the restart, Nuerdanbieke got in on the legs of Soriano. After fighting off the early effort, Soriano fell to his back, but didn’t settle. He continued trying to scramble and not accepting positions until he wound up on top and in guard. With 90 seconds left, Soriano had enough of the guard and stood up inviting Nuerdanbieke to join him. The round ended with an odd spinning attempt from Nuerdanbieke that led to a control position for Soriano.
The second round started with the same pressure from Soriano. Nuerdanbieke tried to counter with another double-leg, but Soriano saw it coming a mile away. The two began to exchange a little more wildly with both men seeing some spots. Another failed takedown attempt from Nuerdanbieke was countered with a takedown from Soriano. However, Nuerdanbieke quickly hit a sweep from half guard, putting him in control with over half the round to go. It only took a few seconds and Nuerdanbieke worked right into mount. Soriano reversed that position for a split second, but nearly put himself into a head and arm choke and was reversed right back to the bottom. That’s where he’d end the round, eating small body shots.
With it seemingly tied a round a piece, the third round would look similar out of the gate. Lots of pressure from Soriano to start, then the takedowns of Nuerdanbieke picked up. He got in on a double early. Soriano would work to his feet multiple times, but got slammed back down. Nuerdanbieke finally managed to flatten him out and took the back. He rolled over, but Nuerdanbieke managed to stay on there with a body triangle. Some punches to soften up Soriano and a few rear naked choke attempts that crossed the chin dotted the final few minutes. The round and fight would both end with Nuerdanbieke still holding that body triangle.
Official Result: Shayilan Nuerdanbieke defeated Sean Soriano by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
