ELMONT, N.Y. – Punahele Soriano thinks his win at UFC on ABC 3 may have saved his career.
Soriano (9-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) picked up a second-round knockout of Dalcha Lungiambula this past Saturday on Long Island, earning the first performance bonus of his career.
The formerly unbeaten 29-year-old snapped a two-fight losing skid and admits that his fight with Lungiambula was a must-win situation for him.
“(My) job was on the line there, and I feel like I got some extra points on that one,” Soriano told MMA Junkie and other reporters at his post-fight news conference. “So I don’t know – I’m just glad I’m still here, glad I’m talking to you guys and glad I’m still fighting.
“They know who to call when they’re trying to make an explosive statement on TV.”
Soriano was sporting an ice pack on his right hand and thinks he likely broke it. But if the injury isn’t as serious as he thinks, he’d like to get back in there as soon as possible.
“(I’m) just trying my best to stay in shape,” Soriano said. “I feel like I didn’t really lose any shape coming off my last one, so I had good momentum building into this one and I don’t really want to lose that conditioning. I want to be able to build off of that. But if my hand is healthy, I’d like to jump back in there. But we’ll see.”
Check out Soriano’s full post-fight interview in the video above.
Punahele Soriano admits ‘job was on the line’ before UFC on ABC 3 knockout of Dalcha Lungiambula