Former middleweight (and even heavyweight, early in his career) Punahele Soriano continued his run at 170lbs on Saturday, taking on Uros Medic in a welterweight fight at UFC Vegas 101.
The bout was Hawaiian Soriano’s second since dropping down to welterweight; he entered off a win over Miguel Baeza. Medic was likewise coming off a single victory, in his case over Tim Means.
Entering the contest Medic was a solid betting favorite (-225) at online sportsbooks. He quickly proved the odds-makers wrong, however. Both fighters started round one in the southpaw stance with Soriano pressing forward immediately. Soriano threw a left straight followed by a right hand that shut Medic’s lights off. With his opponent crashing to the canvas, Soriano pounced delivering some brutal ground and pound to end the fight. This was the first finish for Soriano in the UFC‘s welterweight division, earning a knockout in just 31 seconds.
Following the fight, Punahele Soriano had enough energy to fire off some push-ups in the card. In his post-fight interview, Soriano revealed he and his wife have a baby girl on the way, who he stated was due in June. With that to consider, Soriano doesn’t know if he will fight again before the big day. Regardless, this was a statement win for the Hawaiian fighter who added another knockout to his highlight reel.
Official Result: Punahele Soriano def. Uros Medic by knockout (punches), Round 1, 0:31
