Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight up-and-comer, Puna Soriano, continued his resurgence at 170 pounds this past weekend (Sat., Oct. 4, 2025) at UFC 320, earning a dominant unanimous decision win over Nikolay Veretennikov inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
On paper, Soriano vs. Veretennikov looked like a guaranteed banger — both fighters are known knockout artists — but instead, fans were treated to a one-sided wrestling match. Indeed, Soriano controlled all three rounds on the ground, smothering Veretennikov en route to a clear-cut victory.
And he was bummed about it.
“Physically, I’m good,” Soriano told reporters after the fight. “But, emotionally, I’m sad. Just disappointed. Actually seeing Edmen win is the only thing that’s made me happy — that was really cool. I’m embarrassed. I’m embarrassed for all the people who had to watch me fight like that. That’s not how I fight. I normally go out there and bang and put on cool performances. Maybe the pressure got to me or something.”
Soriano admitted his strategy was to “exploit” Veretennikov’s weak ground game, but the success almost worked too well.
“We were definitely exploiting the ground game so, gameplan-wise, it was 100 percent success — but it didn’t feel good,” Soriano said. “I felt like it was a slippery trap. I got comfortable down there, and I could just feel the tide shifting in my favor when we were down there. He couldn’t get up, and I just felt comfortable and safe.”
While it wasn’t an exciting win, at the end of the day, a win is a win. And Soriano (12-4) has put together three wins in a row in his new weight class of Welterweight, reigniting his UFC career.