“I felt a lot of pressure.”
Punahele Soriano (Puna 185) had considered retirement prior to his welterweight debut, but after his first win since July 2022, he feels like he is living a new life in a new weight class.#UFCLouisville
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— UFC News (@UFCNews)
June 9, 2024
Punahele Soriano had a lot on his mind heading into Saturday’s matchup with Miguel Baeza at UFC on ESPN 57.
Coming off consecutive stoppage losses and a 1-4 record in his past five fights, Soriano admittedly felt pressured heading into his welterweight debut. However, “Storytime” Soriano was feeling more confident going into fight week, and it translated nicely in his performance at UFC Louisville. Soriano bounced back strongly to earn a commanding unanimous decision victory over Baeza, falling just short of the finish. The Hawaiian also set records for the most effective ground strikes landed in a single UFC fight (136), the largest total strike differential in a three-round UFC fight (+309) and the largest effective strike differential in a single UFC welterweight fight (+137).
“It’s crazy. The whole camp, I felt pressure. Every day I was wondering, can I still do it, is this for me, can I handle it,” Soriano said in a backstage interview at UFC. “Then fight week, somehow, I finally felt confident. I was super confident, I had no pressure, I believed in myself… I thought I was Khabib, I thought I had a big afro on my head. I wasn’t sure if I could go into the fight in Dagestan or the language they speak. I didn’t know who I was anymore.”
Soriano had even considered retirement prior to competing at UFC Louisville, and credits mental health coach Micah Schnurstein at the UFC Performance Institute for helping him combat those thoughts.
“I’ve said it a few times, behind the scenes, I was thinking about retiring, but my PI buddy Mika helped me to push those thoughts aside and focus on what’s important to me,” Soriano said. “I thought about my wife, my beloved dog, all the things I love. Ultimately, I reminded myself that I love this sport and I love what I do.”
