Welterweight action closed out the UFC 320 early prelims, where the massive Punahele Soriano put on a punishing effort against Nikolay Veretennikov.
Punahele Soriano scored a big takedown about a minute in, with Nikolay defending with a guillotine. That didn’t work, and Soriano completed the attempt. From there, he was able to posture up and landing some smashing elbows with Veretennikov stuck with his back to the fence.
Soriano ate up a lot of time in that position, landing several solid blows with Veretennikov completely unable to create space or scramble out. Soriano would at times back off and re-engage, with Veretennikov throwing out a haphazard upkick or two that didn’t really come close to catching the Hawaiian. A dominant first round from Puna.
In the second, another solid round from Punahele Soriano, who got the fight down late in the round. Veretennikov did a better job defending this time. He’d have to go right back to defending in round three, with Soriano exploding into a takedown and Veretennikov again working a guillotine to defend. For a time, Veretennikov stayed upright, back to the fence, until Soriano ripped him off it and slammed him to the canvas. On top, there was no moving Soriano, though he wasn’t doing enough damage to hold the position. Instead, the ref stood them back up inside the final minute, with Nikolay Veretennikov going back to his guillotine and pulling guard.
That was deep, and Soriano looked uncomfortable, though he gave the thumbs up and rode it out the the final bell, breaking free just prior to the horn and landing a few big strikes to underscore what was a sure victory.
Official Result: Punahele Soriano def. Nikolay Veretennikov by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
