UFC Predictions: UFC Fight Night: Jack Hermansson vs. Sean Strickland

#2. UFC middleweight division: Punahele Soriano vs. Nick Maximov

Can Punahele Soriano’s heavy hands lead him to victory over Nick Maximov this weekend?

It says a lot about the overall strength of this UFC card when a middleweight fight between a fighter coming off a loss (Punahele Soriano) and one stepping into the octagon for just the second time (Nick Maximov) can act as the co-headliner.

Of the two fighters, Soriano has more UFC experience, as he’s been with the promotion since emerging from Dana White’s Contender Series in mid-2019.

Early on, the native of Hawaii looked like a genuinely excellent prospect. Soriano took out Oskar Piechota by knockout on his octagon debut. He then followed that with a vicious stoppage of Dusko Todorovic last January.

However, his loss to Brendan Allen last summer exposed him somewhat as a fighter who appears to struggle if he can’t finish his opponent early on. By the later rounds of that fight, ‘Story Time’ was essentially a walking target for Allen, who blooded him up with smoother strikes pretty badly.

The big question here, then, is whether he can land something nasty and take Maximov out early on before the potential slowdown happens, leaving him at risk of being taken down and dominated.

In all honesty, it’s tricky to say. Maximov has less overall experience than the Hawaiian. Moreover, the wins he has picked up thus far have largely come against overmatched opposition.

The student of Nick Diaz’s academy looked solid on his octagon debut last October, particularly on the ground. However, it’s worth noting that he also struggled on the feet with Cody Brundage, a fighter who doesn’t appear to hit as hard as Soriano.

Based on Soriano’s loss to Allen, this isn’t an impossible fight for Maximov. If he can avoid that haymaker in the early going and take the Hawaiian down, he could well find himself in a position to put him away.

However, given the sheer power of Soriano and the fact that Maximov struggled badly on the feet with Brundage, the first round could be seriously worrying for the Diaz student.

Essentially then, as long as ‘Story Time’ can avoid being taken down by Maximov, this should be a winnable fight, particularly if he comes out and swings hard early and doesn’t gas out too quickly.

The Pick: Soriano via first-round KO.