Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will welcome a pair of fresh faces to its ever-growing roster in the wake of Dana White’s “Contender Series,” which kicked off Season 3 last night (Tues., June 18, 2019) inside the shiny new APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Punahele Soriano defeated Jamie Pickett by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26) in the night’s main event, which may not have been the result “Story Time” was looking for, but it kept the 26 year-old Hawaiian undefeated at 6-0 and pushed him into the middleweight limelight.
“I gotta have him!”
Dana White gives out the 2nd contract to @Puna185! #DWCS pic.twitter.com/G12mDsYpqA
— UFC (@ufc) June 19, 2019
The same can be said for heavyweight bruiser Yorgan de Castro, 31, who scored the only finish of the night with a first-round destruction of the heavily favored Alton Meeks. De Castro improves to 4-0 after turning pro in late 2017.
Odds defied!
See ya soon, @DecastroYorgan! #DWCS pic.twitter.com/r6EVtLwmFK
— UFC (@ufc) June 19, 2019
Hannah Goldy and Brendan Loughnane also picked up decision wins in “Sin City” with their respective wins over Kali Robbins and Bill Algeo. While they may not be going home with UFC contracts, they are at least on the promotion’s radar.
For “Contender Series” play-by-play from all of last night’s action click here.