Although Punahele Soriano made everything look easy on Saturday night, it was anything but an easy path to the Octagon.
Soriano (10-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) had a dominant and successful welterweight debut in UFC on ESPN 57, defeating Baeza (10-4 MMA, 3-4 UFC) in a clean unanimous decision victory. After the fight, Soriano spoke about the difficulties he had to face in preparation.
“I felt a lot of pressure throughout the entire camp,” Soriano told UFC after the fight. “Every day I thought about whether I could still do this, whether this was for me and whether I could handle it. The week of the fight, for some reason, I had maximum confidence. I was extremely confident, had no added pressure and believed in myself.”
With a skid in two fights and 1-4 in the last five matches, the doubts returned on fight day. Backstage, as he warmed up for the fight, Soriano had to fight those same demons.
“I said this a few times, but I was thinking about retiring backstage and thanks to my friend Mike at the (UFC Performance Institute), I just let go of that bubble and started thinking about something I cared about – like my wife and my dogs. , anything I loved,” Soriano said. “(I was) finally remembering that I love this sport and I love what I do.”
In the end, Soriano is happy with how things turned out. He is proud of his performance and that he showed off his wrestling skills.
“I thought it was Khabib,” Soriano said. “I thought he had a big afro on his head and was going to come out speaking Dagestan or whatever they say. I wasn’t sure who I was anymore.”
“I felt a lot of pressure.”
Punahele Soriano (@puna185) considered retiring before debuting in the welterweight division, achieving his first victory since July 2022 and feels that he has a new life in a new division.#UFCLouisville Results, interviews and more : https://t.co/gAKitEJGRT
– UFC News (@UFCNews) June 9, 2024
For more information on the card, visit the MMA Junkie events hub to UFC on ESPN 57.
