It’s been over two years since Miguel Baeza last crossed the threshold into the UFC Octagon, and more than three years since the talented welterweight last got his hand raised in victory, and the combination of those two things has him counting down the minutes to his return engagement against Punahele Soriano this weekend in Louisville, Kentucky.
“I’m just excited,” said Baeza, a sparkle in his eyes and a wide smile on his face. “It’ll be the first time I’ve been in front of a crowd since my UFC debut in Tampa.
“I feel renewed,” he added. “I’m gonna be reborn and it’s a whole new start to the UFC career.”
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The original start to the now 31-year-old South Florida native’s time on the biggest stage in the sport began exceptionally well, as Baeza graduated from the third season of Dana White’s Contender Series and maintained his unblemished professional record through his first three UFC appearances, earning stoppage wins over Hector Aldana, Matt Brown, and Takashi Sato to move to 10-0 overall and position himself as a prospect to watch in the 170-pound weight class.

He shared Fight of the Night honors with Santiago Ponzinibbio while incurring his first career setback, and was stopped for the first time five months later in a clash with Khaos Williams. Looking to put his winless campaign from the previous year behind him, Baeza again made a five-month turnaround, returning to action in April 2022 against Andre Fialho, only to once again land on the business end of a stoppage loss.
That was the last time he competed on the UFC stage.
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“It’s been up and down — mostly down, I’ll be honest — but I feel like that’s what any good story to tell has is some adversity,” Baeza said, outlining what has kept him sidelined for the past two-plus years. “It’s just been injuries and I’ve been dealing with a lot of illnesses, too, just back-to-back.

“The injuries weren’t too bad; they just seem to be coming at the wrong time. The illness part I really had to take a step back, let my team know what was going on, tackle that right away. I have a great team around me, they were patient with me, and now we’re back.”
Asked if he wanted to disclose anything further about the illness, Baeza declined for the time being, suggesting he may be more inclined to speak about things in the future.
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It’s understandable given that he’s only a couple days away from finally making the walk again, and would rather keep things focused on the task at hand, rather than dive into the details of what has clearly been a difficult period in his personal and professional lives, one made more complicated and challenging because of the disappointing results accumulated prior to his two-year absence.
“You know exactly how it is!” he said with a laugh when asked about the difficulties of being forced to the sidelines after three consecutive defeats. “Coming into the UFC, I was undefeated, and then I was undefeated in the UFC, 3-0, had that fight (with Ponzinibbio) and everything seemed to compound after that.
“Having this layoff — the injuries, the illnesses — it was a hard road, but all credit goes to my team, my coaches, the people around me that kept believing in me, even when I didn’t. Having them there with me is a big part of why I’m here now.
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“I’m grateful for them.”
Prior to his hiatus, Baeza had spoken a great deal about working to identify the finer details that separate athletes at this level, correctly identifying that it’s the little things that often mean the difference between victory and defeat when you’re competing at the highest level in the sport.

As he readies to return this weekend, he remains steadfast in that belief and has put an increased focus on those elements, pointing to his health as a major element that he didn’t necessarily take as a major consideration prior to it being the root cause of his two-year absence from competition.
“It’s the little things that sometimes you don’t even think about because they’re so small, but then when you get to a certain level, it’s super-important,” began Baeza, whose bout with Soriano kicks off the main card on Saturday. “The biggest was my health — making sure I’m not going in there half of myself or a quarter of myself because I’m trying to get this W, trying to avenge this (loss).
“That also led to my mentality and where I was at in terms of making sure I’m staying focused in the fight, being present in that moment, ready to go for 15 minutes.

Miguel Baeza reacts after defeating Takashi Sato of Japan in their welterweight bout during the UFC Fight Night at UFC APEX on November 28, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
“I think these last two years have been a hard teacher,” he added. “After the losses, the time off, the injuries, the illnesses — it’s all been a hard lesson to learn, but I’m here now and I feel like I’m stronger because of it.”
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While his return to the Octagon finally comes this weekend, Baeza has been feeling good and ready to compete for several months now, and was able to get some of that pent up energy out by competing at Fury Pro Grappling 9 back in April.
“We were looking for a fight with the UFC because I started feeling good again. It took them some time to get me a fight, so in the meantime, Charlie Radtke, who is on the card with me, reached out to Fury and got me a grappling match, so I’m really thankful to him for that,” explained Baeza, a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt who secured an armbar submission over Guilherme Neves to garner the victory.
“I had the itch and wanted to compete, and it was a good way to get back into the fights,” he added. “We had the weight cuts, everything; it was a good icebreaker.”
With the ice broken and his return just a couple days away, all Baeza wants to do now is finally make that walk once again, step back into the Octagon, and get into a fistfight.
“I’m at the point where going through everything, now it’s just a fight,” he said, smiling. “After everything that has been going on, what’s the worst that can happen?
“I’ve been dealing with so much more, so I’m here to throw down, have fun, and put on a show. I’m winning either way and I’m excited for it.”
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