Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
- Punahele Soriano scored a stunning first-round knockout Saturday.
- The Hawaiian hit Dusko Todorovic so hard it was like he rammed him with a vehicle.
- But speaking to Fight Island media in Abu Dhabi after his win, Soriano said he was so nervous he thought he could hear his own heartbeat.
- Watch the finish below.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
FIGHT ISLAND – Punahele Soriano added another first-round knockout to his highlight-reel, and then told the media that he was so nervous during the fight he could hear his own heartbeat.
Soriano was fighting Dusko Todorovic in the opening bout of Saturday’s main UFC card, broadcast on ABC from the newly-built Etihad Arena on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.
After five bouts on the prelims, all of which went the distance, Soriano kicked off the main card in style by flooring Todorovic for good inside five minutes.
Soriano, from Hawaii, was looking for the finish from the beginning of the fight, seemingly seeking to remove Todorovic’s head from his shoulders with power punching alone.
Before the opening five minute round had finished, Soriano got what he was looking for, sending his opponent to the canvas with a thudding fist that had such a great impact it was like he was ramming a vehicle into his opponent.
Watch it right here:
—Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) January 16, 2021
Or here if you're in a different region:
—UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) January 16, 2021
"It felt amazing," Soriano said in a statement sent to Insider.
"I feel like I black out in every fight and I really don't know what happened. I trust my body and I trust my instincts. My body somehow just makes the proper corrections in every fight no matter what. I just trust that and I'm going to ride it out as long as I can.
"I was nervous," he said.
"My heart just felt like a speaker. I swear I could hear it beating like just standing there. It almost hurt, it felt like a side pain in my chest, but I just fought through it.
"I knew as soon as the cage door closes, I'm going to be at my best no matter what."
With victory, Soriano advanced his pro MMA record to a flawless eight wins (five knockouts, two submissions, and one decision).
Elsewhere on the card, Max Holloway destroyed Calvin Kattar so badly in the main event that the UFC boss Dana White ordered Kattar to go to a local hospital, where his head was stapled.
Read more:
One of the UFC's most spectacular knockout artists just got brutally knocked out on Fight Island