An eight-fight winning streak and a tireless social networking campaign have finally landed Soa “The Hulk” Palelei back in the UFC.
The Australian heavyweight also had some help from his new management team at Paradigm MMA, who just signed Palelei to a contract recently, and now he finds himself back in the UFC.
Palelei had a brief single fight with the UFC in 2007, losing to Eddie Sanchez by TKO, and did not return to the promotion after that moment.
Since then Palelei has racked up a 10-1 record overall, including the eight straight wins of late with the only loss during that streak coming by way of first-round defeat to former Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix champion Daniel Cormier.
“I’m thankful to Dana White and Joe Silva for giving me this opportunity to come back to the UFC to showcase my skills,” Palelei said via a press release from Paradigm MMA on Monday. “With determination, hard work and a great team, I’m happy to say that today I have signed with the UFC. I look forward to competing in the best organization in the world.”
Palelei has been on a long campaign via Twitter to hopefully catch the attention of the UFC and get another shot in the organization.
Since his one fight in the promotion, Palelei has worked tirelessly to earn his way back and now he will have his chance with a newly inked four-fight deal.
Following the loss to Cormier in 2010, Palelei went on to win his next eight in a row, finishing seven of them by first-round knockout or TKO.
Most recently, Palelei dispatched of former UFC heavyweight Sean McCorkle by first-round TKO after landing heavy shots early in the fight and then finishing the Indiana-based fighter with strikes on the ground.
There has been no official word on when Palelei will make his return to the UFC or an opponent for his first fight back.
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report
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