'Left hand from hell' leaves UFC fighter in a crumpled mess
Punahele Soriano has extended his unbeaten record with a vicious KO victory that left UFC 245 fans in awe.
Yet to taste defeat in his professional MMA career, the Hawaiian was making his UFC debut in Las Vegas.
The octagon newcomer didn't even need one whole round to announce himself to the UFC world during his middleweight bout against Oskar Piechota.
Soriano gave fight fans a taste of his devastating punching power with a combination of shots that left Piechota in a heaped mess on the canvas.
The 27-year-old caught first caught his Polish opponent with a left-right combination to send him sprawling.
Piechota managed to get back on his feet after that onslaught but it was lights out when Soriano caught him flush on the chin with a brutal left hook.
He followed it up with another huge right before the referee stepped in to end the fight with 1:43 remaining in the first round.
Punahele Soriano with the left hand from hell❗️#UFC245 pic.twitter.com/39d0Vf4IGS
— WhatsUpMMA (@WhatsUp_MMA) December 14, 2019
@bet365 why have you voided a win for Soriano on UFC?
HE KNOCKED THE GUYS HEAD OFF— Scott #LetsGo (@st2oh) December 15, 2019
Soriano with a great UFC debut. What a knockout, good prospect. #UFC245
— Miguel Bermúdez (@southpawcasual) December 14, 2019
Soriano 🥊 that sound was horrible #UFC245
— SimplyFlip (@SimplyFlip) December 14, 2019
Soriano ended ol’ boys contract with that finish.
— Santos Sanchez IV (@East9thStreet) December 14, 2019
Puna Soriano. Wow. Sign me up for more. #UFC245
— Chandler MacKenzie (@chanmack21) December 14, 2019
What crisp boxing from @puna185 Soriano! That was pretty to watch. Leveled his Poland foe w/the left hook early. Then closed the show w/the same shot. The #DWCS winner found a home for it and Piechota never adjusted. #UFC245 @espn @UFCFightPass ( 📸@FightsRomo) pic.twitter.com/OEPgEzNHWC
— CombatesMundial.com (@combatesmundial) December 14, 2019
Punahele Story-Time Soriano opens up the UFC 245 fight card with a devastating KO in the first round!! Congrats bro!!! I know it’s early on in the card but that was a $50,000 knockout!!!
— Rodrigo Galvan (@rodgalvanV3) December 15, 2019
Soriano with the brutal KO finish 😱 #UFC245pic.twitter.com/UMfHm3pGZg
— Odds.com.au (@OddsComAu) December 15, 2019
The stunning victory was the perfect way for Soriano to promote himself in what is one of the biggest cards of the year.
The Las Vegas showpiece also featured three title fights including Aussie Alex Volkanovski's bout with featherweight champion, Max Holloway, plus Amanda Nunes and Kamaru Usman’s title defences in the women’s bantamweight and men’s welterweight, respectively.