Fight Coverage
Ramiz Brahimaj Has A Date With Destiny
Ascending Welterweight Sees Saturday As Another Chance To Impress
Ramiz Brahimaj isn’t big on talking, preferring to allow his actions to speak for him; and lately, those actions have been speaking volumes.
Currently in the best form of his career, the 33-year-old opens 2026 as a dark horse in the welterweight division, having earned three straight stoppage wins to put himself on the doorstep of the Top 15 heading into his matchup on Saturday night with fellow surging hopeful Punahele Soriano in Houston.
After struggling to find consistency over a 10-fight stretch where he alternated results dating back to his days on the Texas regional circuit, Brahimaj has tapped into something that has him feeling like he’s destined for big things in the not-too-distant future.
“I just realized that I’ve always done myself a disservice by not believing in myself,” began the introspective and intense Texas resident, explaining what has clicked for him over his last three outings.
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“When I showed up at The Garden, when I showed up at that Fight Night, when I showed up at the T-Mobile Arena, when I fought (Austin) Vanderford, it was just a small reminder of ‘Hey, be there for yourself. You are more than enough. You’ve picked yourself up, you’ve dusted yourself off. You’ve been through the wringer, and guess who was always there? You were always there for yourself.’
“I just needed that little bit of a reminder that no matter what happens, as long as I show up and as long as I wholeheartedly believe in myself, I know I can achieve absolute greatness. All of that perseverance taught me one thing: I am who I say I am, and I will always be who I say I am.”
What makes his current form stand out even more is that it’s a stark contrast to the inconsistency that defined his career even before he first touched down in the UFC.
After beginning his career with six consecutive wins, Brahimaj spent his next 10 fights alternating results: each setback followed by a stoppage win; every disappointing effort chased by a dominant performance the next time out. It remained that way through the two-year hiatus that left him wondering if his career would continue and struggling with the myriad challenges such a prolonged absence can create.
But after dropping his first fight back to Themba Gorimbo, a childhood dream of fighting at Madison Square Garden resulted in a first-round knockout win over Mickey Gall that kept the pattern intact before the Bronx-born finisher broke from the routine with two more stoppage wins in 2025.
Looking back, he credits a portion of his current form to sage words from his father, Shaban, ahead of his fight with Gall at UFC 309.
“My father said to me, ‘I know that you have so many uncertainties —I see it on your face —but I promise you, when you truly leave no stone left unturned and your heart tells you ‘we’ve done everything,’ your heart and your mind are gonna align together and you’re gonna go, ‘I’m at peace with everything.’”
He pauses, sitting with his father’s words once again.
“And that’s where I’m slowly starting to get to is being at peace with everything,” said Brahimaj. “With every single fight camp, I’m checking every one of those boxes; from the training to the mindset — I no longer worry. I didn’t worry last time. I’m not gonna worry this time. Obviously, there is pressure, there’s nerves — all of this comes with the territory, and it never goes away; I’m human.
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“I’m scared out of my mind, and my respect for him has been in the preparation I’ve given,” he added in regard to Soriano, who similarly has earned three straight wins and carries fight-ending power in both hands. “My respect for him is in every single thing that I’ve done leading up to February 21. That is my respect for Puna Soriano, and I couldn’t ask for a better dance partner.”
Though he has immense respect for the good-natured Hawaiian he'll go toe to toe with on Saturday, Brahimaj believes there is something more at play right now than him simply being the better man each of the last three times he crossed the threshold into the UFC Octagon.
The two years away gave him a lot of time to think, to reset, and while he wasn’t able to earn a win in his return, Brahimaj was quick to recognize that simply making a comeback from the dark depths he was in was a significant victory, and since then, he’s been operating with a different level of confidence and drive.
While he’s still based in the Dallas area, training camps are now done in suburban Chicago with the Valle Flow Striking team, where he trades the comforts of home for a Spartan lifestyle that includes winters that are too cold for his liking and a shower that is consistently even icier. With that has come a shift from telling himself he’s capable of doing great things to genuinely believing it, and then going out and following through whenever his feet touch the canvas.
“I would do myself a great disservice if I did not show up and show out, do everything that is in my brain,’ began Brahimaj, pausing for a beat in order to better articulate his thoughts. “It might not come out of my mouth, but it’s in my soul, it’s in my heart, and I have a rendezvous with destiny on February 21. Me and destiny are gonna walk hand-in-hand, and I’m gonna change my fortune for the better.
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“I respect my opponent —I really, really do; I have a lot of admiration for Puna —and I understand it’s just business when I walk into that Octagon on February 21, but as I’ve said before, I have to display, I have to showcase my entire arsenal and the greatness that is inside of me, the greatness that has been pushing me. I know it’s gonna propel me to new heights —I feel it, I believe it; I know it’s there.
“All this restlessness I’ve had, all of these sleepless nights I’ve had, all the hard work I’ve put in —it almost feels like a Rocky theme that I came up here to Chicago in the freezing cold,” he added with a smile. "When I get back to the basement apartment over here, the majority of the time, the shower takes forever to heat up, and by the time it does, the hot water is out already. That is just a grind, and I understand these are the steps.
“February 21 is my rendezvous with destiny, and I know we’re gonna go hand-in-hand, and we’re gonna have a good old time.”
The meeting between the ascending welterweights that have been on somewhat parallel tracks of late comes at an interesting time in the division, as the title picture is crowded, the middle third of the rankings is ever shifting, and the bottom third feels poised for a makeover over the next few months.
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While the victor of his classic “who will keep moving forward?” matchup isn’t necessarily assured a spot in the rankings, a date with someone sporting a number next to their name later in the year is certainly not out of the question. But more importantly to Brahimaj, a win over Soriano will serve as further confirmation that even bigger opportunities are in his future.
“I reiterate the fact that I’m not going nowhere; I ain’t going nowhere, and I got a lot more to show, and I’ve got a lot more to prove, and nobody on this Earth is gonna tell me otherwise,” said Brahimaj, his Bronx upbringing coming through in his voice and tone a little more. “Nobody is gonna prevent me.
“All those setbacks have propelled me to these moments. All those scars, all those setbacks, those reminders tell me that I’m here, I’m not gonna nowhere, and I’m gonna show the world. Being underestimated, me being overlooked —‘he’s not this; he’s not that’ — everybody is gonna see.
“This is my time,” he added, softening in tone, but not his self-belief. “I respect every man that I stand opposite to in that cage, but I understand this is my time. Call me delusional, call me whatever you want, but this is my time.
“This is gonna be an immeasurable, beautiful, dominating win; I feel it in my core. I’m gonna continue to climb that ladder, continue to show the world who Ramiz Brahimaj is, and what makes him great.”
UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs Hernandez took place live from Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on February 21, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!