Punahele Soriano and Nick Maximov faced off in a Middleweight clash tonight (Sat., Feb. 5, 2022) at UFC Vegas 47 from UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Following a back-and-forth fight, was named the victor.
Maximov waited approximately 15 seconds before shooting for his first takedown attempt, though he did land a nice right hand first. Soriano stuffed the first shot, but Maximov cracked him with another right and sat him down with a single leg shot. Soriano started to counter, landing the two in the crackdown position. After some scrambles, the two were back on their feet, where Soriano landed a solid left.
Soriano denied a shot and landed a huge knee. Maximov hung tough, wrestling his way to the standing back mount. Maximov threatened the neck crank, but Soriano used the two-on-one grip to protect himself and eventually escape the position. Maximov stuck to him like glue, but Soriano closed the round with some heavy shots while defending the takedown.
Maximov landed well to start the second, finding his right hand and right kick. However, Soriano defended his first shot of the round expertly, nearly reversing position in the process. Soriano immediately flurried after breaking away, but a bloody Maximov forced him back into the fence wrestling. Soriano ripped the body, prompting another shot from Maximov that sent the pair back to the crackdown position and then into the clinch.
Soriano really showed great defensive skill and flexibility, but Maximov was relentless in working to score takedowns and advance position … even if he couldn’t really control the Hawaiian. Once again, it was a very competitive round.
Maximov landed a couple kicks before fully finishing a takedown seconds into the final round. Soriano still worked back up, returned to the clinch, then was dragged back down — Maximov appeared the fresher man late in the fight. As a result, Soriano could not fully break away, nor was he able to really get off many big punches in the transitions. It wasn’t a ton of fun to watch, but Maximov clearly controlled the third round.
Given the relative inexperience levels of each athlete, there was a lot of wrestling skill on display here. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always make for brilliant viewing. Regardless, the judges felt did enough to win!
Result: Nick Maximov defeats Punahele Soriano via split-decision (29-28, 30-27, 28-29)
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