LAS VEGAS – Puna Soriano is eager to get one more in before the end of the year.
Soriano had been scheduled to face Adam Yandiev last month at UFC 242, but Yandiev was forced out due to injury and the fight was scrapped off the card.
“As far as I know, Adam Yandiev hurt his knee, had to have surgery, so it’s nothing really I can do,” Soriano told MMA Junkie. “I trained as hard as I could, and I was ready.”
But actually, Soriano revealed that Yandiev’s pullout might have been a blessing in disguise, as he dealt with his own adversity that would have most likely forced him out.
“I got really lucky,” Soriano said. “It just so happens that a few days after I found out that he pulled out, I ended up catching like this freak case of pink eye. Like it was terrible. I was in bed for like a week straight. It put me out for three weeks total, but I was in bed for a week straight.”
Soriano, who earned on contract on Dana White’s Contender Series, now is set to make his promotional debut at UFC 245 against Oskar Piechota.
The undefeated 26-year-old has aspirations of becoming a top middleweight contender, but after watching Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa’s incredible battle at UFC 241, he realized he still has work to do.
“I think my biggest lesson came from watching the Paulo Costa and Yoel Romero fight,” Soriano said. “Biggest lesson is that I have a long way to go. I got a long way to go if I want to be the best.”
