And even though losing is painful, Soriano chose to look at it in a positive light.
“My biggest takeaway is that I had a lot of fun in there, spent the whole 15 minutes and I feel like I grew a bigger love for the sport, a bigger appreciation for it. I just feel like after that I grew to the sport; I just love it so much.”’
This training camp, Soriano put an emphasis on cardio, which his body wasn’t previously able to handle as much of due to injuries. Being able to add more running into his camp has helped evolve Soriano into an even better fighter.
Saturday night, Soriano will look to end middleweight Nick Maximov’s undefeated run. Maximov competed on season four of Dana White’s Contender Series, picking up a unanimous decision victory over Oscar Cota. He secured the win at heavyweight, but ultimately didn’t earn a contract. However, Maximov was brought back into the Octagon at UFC 266 to make his debut, where he defeated Cody Brundage.
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“He’s a great fighter, he’s great everywhere,” Soriano said. “Great wrestler. Great grappling. He’s 7-0, undefeated. He’s a winner, always finds ways to win, but I’m going to go out there and find out a way to beat him.”
In his first two UFC appearances, Soriano earned the victories by first-round stoppages and has finished seven of his eight wins in the first round. On the other hand, Maximov has had two wins by knockout and three by submission. The unknown of Maximov is what Soriano must remain careful of.