Advertisement

'Left hand from hell' leaves UFC fighter in a crumpled mess

andrew reid

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.

Seen here Punahele Soriano wins on his UFC debut with a vicious first round KO.
Punahele Soriano's vicious left hook set up an impressive first round win in his UFC debut. Pic: ESPN

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.

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.