Athletes
Punahele Soriano | Happiest In The Background
Streaking Welterweight Talks Winning Streak, Enjoying Being Under The Radar
Some athletes crave the spotlight and take every opportunity to court attention, making sure to tell you about all of their triumphs and remind you of past successes that may have slipped your memory, doubling down in instances where they have a personal connection to an individual that may be garnering the recognition they so deeply covet.
Others, like welterweight Punahele Soriano, prefer life under the radar, existing happily in the background, hopeful that you don’t keep mentioning that big win from last year that continues to age like an exquisite Cab Sav tucked away in your wine cellar.
MORE UFC PARIS: Fight By Fight Preview | Fighters On The Rise | Donchenko Got His Wish
“It’s kind of funny: I try not to think about that because I think it adds a weird amount of pressure for me,” began Soriano when asked about his 31-second knockout win over Uros Medic. “In my head, I don’t want people think ‘that was just a lucky win’ and that’s where the pressure comes from. It’s like, ‘I gotta win every fight so that people don’t think that’s a lucky win.’ I’m just trying to win my next fight; that’s all that matters to me. It just doesn’t matter to me. I feel like this sport is so crazy that one result on one night doesn’t make you better or worse than anyone; it’s just a result that happened.”
The “one result doesn’t define you” outlook is tremendously healthy and while some will suggest it’s a coping mechanism to gird against past of future setbacks, the reality is that in a sport where so much is out of an athletes control, separating from the individual results and simply focusing on the task at hand is a great way to stay grounded and in the moment, because as the old saying goes, “You’re only as good as your last fight.”
Punahele Soriano: "I'm Excited To Mix It Up" | UFC Paris
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!
Punahele Soriano: "I'm Excited To Mix It Up" | UFC Paris
/
For Soriano, committing his attention to the matter at hand is also a keyway to avoid getting caught up in all the noise and chatter that can become a distraction and cause an athlete to look too far beyond what’s right in front of them.
“When I was at middleweight and coming off two good knockouts, I feel like I kind of bought in to the hype, bought into everything,” Soriano said. “Now that I’m flying under the radar, it’s kind of easier. I just do my own thing and that’s it.”
FIGHT WEEK INTERVIEWS: Dan Hooker | Daniil Donchenko | Farès Ziam
While fans and media having a short memory is part of the reason why Soriano’s win over Medic and overall success since shifting to the 170-pound weight class isn’t a bigger talking point in general and specifically each time before he makes the walk, another contributing factor is how things have gone in the two fights since that dominant showing.
After beating Medic in January last year, Soriano took time off to welcome his first child and when he returned to action in October at UFC 320, he dominated Nikolay Veretennikov in a fight where he showed his clear superiority but came away feeling slightly disappointed in his own efforts. Earlier this year in Houston, the Xtreme Couture mainstay outworked Ramiz Brahimaj in a battle of unheralded welterweights with Soriano dropping the opening round before rallying to secure the unanimous decision victory.
Though the victory didn’t send shockwaves through the division or the fan base, it was a critical effort for the 33-year-old dark horse.
“It meant a lot to me,” Soriano said. “It was a crazy-hard fight, and I feel like I leveled up mid-fight. I remember coming out of the second round — the round is crazy competitive and the round ends with me getting mounted; we both get up and I laughed like, ‘Man, I’m having fun!’ I feel like I learned that mindset brings out the best in me. The third round continued to get better, and I just realized I was having fun and continued to enjoy the moment.”
Watch Every UFC Event On Paramount+
Ahead of that contest with Brahimaj, Soriano talked about how in the fight with Veretennikov, he felt like he fought down to his level of competition, explaining it was something he experienced throughout his collegiate wrestling career as well. The antidote to that, he said, was getting paired up with individuals he views as scary, noting that he was afraid of Brahimaj for the entirety of his training camp and that propelled him to a new level.
Once they were in there, Soriano found the drive needed to navigate a competitive first half of the fight and grind out a win, and now, he’s ready to step in with another individual that brought out the same intensity and focus in him throughout training camp.
“100 percent, man; scary dude, wild dude,” he said of Daniil Donchenko. “Plus, he’s young and has that young man’s fire and vigor. It’s weird to say that I’m kind of becoming the old guy — I’m not old, but I’m getting up there; I’m 33. I always say this funny joke that ‘I’m a late bloomer’ and didn’t mature until I was in college, but it’s funny to be in the position where I’m the older guy fighting the young bucks now.”
Saturday’s meeting with Donchenko at Accor Arena is positioned in the middle of the main card, which just by positioning gives the contest a higher profile and slightly more weight than if it were stationed on the prelims. As such, a win over the ascending Ukrainian prospect and a fifth straight victory since moving to welterweight would provide Soriano with a greater opportunity to call attention to himself and his efforts while perhaps even using his time on the microphone to lobby for a step up in competition or a place in the rankings if he were so inclined.
But that’s not what is going to happen.
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” he said. “I think that’s the path for me; it seems to be working. was just pondering this the other day and I think that’s one of my superpowers is staying under the radar, being under-estimated, overlooked. If you see me, talk to me, you’re like, ‘This guy is so silly. This guy is not a fighter; he’s too happy to be good.’ For whatever reason, that works for me and it seems to be my way of doing things.
“I’m sure all that stuff will come if I just keep doing what I’m supposed to be doing. All that will come and I’m sure I’ll be ready for it when it comes.”
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!