Athletes
Daniil Donchenko Got His Wish
The Ultimate Fighter Season 33 Welterweight Winner Asked To Fight In Paris, And Now He's Gearing Up To Face Punahele Soriano In UFC's Return To Accor Arena On Saturday
With each successive fight, Daniil Donchenko is getting closer to delivering the kind of balanced performance he’s looking for each time he steps into the Octagon.
Heading into his fight in Baku, Azerbaijan, earlier this year, The Ultimate Fighter welterweight tournament winner spoke about needing to be more patient and not loading up on his attacks so much. It was a response to his performance against Alex Morono in February, where he outlasted the veteran to earn a unanimous decision win but brought himself to the brink of exhaustion by looking to separate Morono from his consciousness with each shot he threw.
Watch Every UFC Event On Paramount+
Against Theodor Berggren in June, he wanted to be more measured, more understanding of the fact that if he stuck to the game plan and fought the way he’s capable of fighting, the finish would come, and that’s precisely how things played out.
Daniil Donchenko Finishes Berggren In The Second Round | UFC Baku
Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there`s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world`s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!
Daniil Donchenko Finishes Berggren In The Second Round | UFC Baku
/
“I was not really, really rushed, but I was in, I was [loading up]; it was a good one and I’m so happy that I finished this fight, I got a bonus, finally, and just looking forward for next fight, next performance,” Donchenko said, reflecting on his second-round knockout win over Berggren as he readies to make his return to action this weekend in Paris, where he faces off with Punahele Soriano in a battle of ascending welterweights. “I think I had much more opportunities to go straight and fight in the last fight, but I was more patient. Yes, I was [loading up], I was [pressing], but it’s a fight — I should do it; if I will not, my opponent will do it.
UPCOMING UFC EVENT TICKETS: UFC Edmonton | UFC 332 | Noche UFC
“I don’t just bang like crazy; I did a smart game plan,” continued the excitable Ukrainian prospect. “I attacked his body, he put his hands down, low kicks, and then BOOM — high kick! It was all planned.
“I feel like every fight, I progress — I feel more confident, I learn a lot, and every time I’m in the Octagon, I feel [calmer]. The UFC experience changed me for the best way.”
Following his knockout of Berggren in Baku, Donchenko took to the microphone and lobbied for an opportunity to compete in Paris, declaring that he’s fluent in French and proclaiming, “Paris, j’arrive! On va tout niquer a Paris!”
Translation: “Paris, I’m coming! We’re going to f*** everything up in Paris!”
When asked about his declaration and perfect French, Donchenko smiled and laughed before explaining how it came to be that he was fluent in French.
READ: Fight By Fight Preview | UFC Paris
“When I was young, I spent one or two months every summer in France with some family,” began Donchenko, who spent the majority of his time preparing for this camp at Czerwony Smok in Poznan, Poland, following a brief vacation and a little time training in Switzerland. “For 10 years, every summer, I was one or two months in France to learn, to spend summer holidays, and after I was 16, I was still in good communication with the family, had many, many friends, and I’ve visited France many times.
“My best friend is French. One of my coaches is from France too, so I practice a lot,” he added. “That’s why people were a little bit shocked how I can speak French because what I said was more like slang.”
Slang or not, that is his intention when he steps in with Soriano this weekend, who arrives in Paris in a comparable position to his multilingual dance partner.
The Dana White’s Contender Series graduate enters on a four-fight winning streak, having remained perfect since moving to welterweight earlier this year by out-hustling Ramiz Brahimaj in Houston. Like Donchenko, Soriano currently resides outside of the Top 15 despite his extended run of success and holding a pretty noteworthy win at the start of last year.
READ: Week 4 Preview | Dana White’s Contender Series, Season 10
“He has a four-fight winning streak [since] he moved down to the welterweight division,” began Donchenko, offering his assessment of Soriano. “What I saw is he started to be a smarter fighter when he moved down, which I think is just because of experience, because in his earlier fights in the UFC, he just fired from the beginning and then he was tired.
“He’s learned and it’s a great fight — he beat Uros Medic who is in Top 10 right now, and for me, it’s like a test,” he added. “If I knock this guy out, if I finish him, I deserve to be in the Top 15, I guess.”
Daniil Donchenko Secures The Ultimate Fighter Win With Round 1 TKO | Noche UFC
Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there`s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world`s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!
Daniil Donchenko Secures The Ultimate Fighter Win With Round 1 TKO | Noche UFC
/
Donchenko laughed as he finished his thought, the “I guess” feeling like an accurate representation of the duality that exists for activity-oriented competitors like himself and the odd weight given to the two-laned rankings that currently exist in the UFC.
For both Donchenko and many others, fighting regularly is the most important thing, but there is an understanding that earning a place in the rankings elevates your profile, and a greater profile coincides with bigger opportunities and, in theory, larger paychecks.
REGISTER YOUR INTEREST: Polymarket UFC 334 | UFC 335
But there is no clear path to landing a place in the Top 15.
The newly launched Meta rankings prioritize “who a fighter has faced, how the fight was won, and when it took place." Conversely, the media rankings, which are determined by a voting panel comprised of media members from a number of outlets, have long been criticized for being too focused on name recognition and leaning a little too heavily on past performance.
Each has its merits, and on the whole, rankings help provide context to weight classes and individual matchups and are therefore important, but not as important as routinely stepping into the Octagon and competing, at least not for Donchenko.
“To be honest, I don’t care about rankings and stuff — I just care about the next names in my list for who I should fight, who I should prepare for,” he said. “Rankings are good because when you’re in the rankings, people start to talk more about you, but if you fight in the right way, people will talk about you anyway and you will be so entertaining as a fighter.
Watch Donchenko Win The Ultimate Fighter With First Round TKO
“Now I have two missions: to win this fight and finish this guy, but that I should show that some UFC sponsors like Monster, Venum, OnlyFans, should sign men because I need some more money to reach the high level because that is the goal too.
“Now people are starting to talk about me a bit more, and after this fight — after I finish this guy — it will be even more; my hype train will really start."
Soriano is no easy out, and while Donchenko is always looking for ways to create damage and secure a finish, he knows that the most important thing is to step into the cage with a clear mind and trust that he’s done everything possible to put himself in the best position to earn a third straight UFC win and take another step forward in the welterweight division.
“I should just step inside the Octagon, put all the things behind, and be in the present — never think about ‘I will win, I will lose; what will happen?’” he said. “I should be in the moment and follow the mood, follow my body; everything should work together.
Stay Connected With Our Free UFC Newsletter
“I have everything to win this fight, to finish this guy, and I believe in my skills, my mental power. Everything I did before, I should do in this fight.
“The most important is just to enjoy the moment, enjoy this game, and I will perform like never before.”
UFC Fight Night: Hooker vs Parnasse took place live from Accor Arena in Paris, France on September 5, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
Tags