Punahele Soriano suffered his first TKO loss in the hands of  Roman Kopylov

HAWAII, USA – Russian fighter Roman Kopylov devastated the hearts of the Hawaiians when he finished the Fil-Am fighter Punahele Soriano.
Roman Kopylov scored a standing technical knockout in their middleweight bout on UFC Fight Night last Sunday, January 15, at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Roman Kopylov’s strategy played out well in round 1; he did lots of fakes that enabled him to choose his strikes effectively and conserve his gas tank.
Kopylov outsmarted Punahele Soriano, who brought heavy punches in every strike in the air that made him gassed out.

Punahele’s takedown attempt wasn’t successful either; instead of being practical and wise, he impatiently threw finishing punches that landed in the air.

Kopylov’s punishing body kicks did a lot of damage in a virtual slugfest between the two middleweights. Coupled with a barrage of shots that staggered Soriano, the referee stopped the fight at the 3:19 mark of the second round.

Kopylov’s performance earned him “Performance of the Night” honors, and the fighter bolstered his record to 10-2-0. Soriano dropped to 9-3 and 3-3 in the UFC. Kopylov likewise evened his UFC record to 2-2.

It was a disappointing loss for Soriano, who fought in the main UFC card for the first time in his career.