Daniil Donchenko defeats Punahele Soriano by unanimous decision
Donchenko vs Soriano · Hooker vs. Parnasse
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More from this fight.
What happened
The result, the defining moments, and what the verdict means.
Donchenko dropped Soriano in round one with a combination and followed with elbows while Soriano hung on to a single leg.
Soriano spent rounds one and two swinging and missing while Donchenko picked at the body and legs.
Soriano's only sustained success came in round three — several takedowns, brief back control and a slam — and it did not change the outcome.
- Ben Cartlidge30–27
- David Lethaby30–27
- Eric Colon29–28
- Official UFC resultsUFC Paris: Hooker vs Parnasse — Results
- Round-by-round play-by-playUFC Paris 'Hooker vs. Parnasse' play-by-play, results & round scoring
- Official UFC scorecardsUFC Paris — official judges' scorecards
Who Called It?
How the analysts' picks held up once the cage door closed.
Analyst picks: DFS By The Numbers Hit; We Want Picks Hit; AJ Hit; HopperoMMA Hit; JakeGerberMMA Hit; Mike Finch Hit; Bedtime MMA Miss; James Lynch Miss.
All 8 analyst scorecardsWinner, method and round results8 scored · 6 hits · 2 misses
| Predicted by | Pick | Actual | Winner | Method | Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sportsbook Favourite call, market price 67.4%. Donchenko · Dec | Donchenko · Dec | Hit | Hit | Not called | |
| Rates Donchenko's striking volume and body work higher, and doubts Soriano's cardio if the wrestling does not pay off. “going to go Donchenko here. I'll take him to win this fight by decision.” Track record: winner called in 77 of 112 resolved picks. | |||||
| Sportsbook Favourite call, market price 67.4%. Donchenko · to win | Donchenko · Dec | Hit | Not called | Not called | |
| Expects Donchenko to build an early striking lead that makes Soriano's late wrestling look desperate. “I am going to pick Denil Donchenko because I think the striking is that much better and I think he'll get ahead in the striking.” Track record: winner called in 79 of 121 resolved picks. | |||||
| Sportsbook Favourite call, market price 67.4%. Donchenko · KO/TKO | Donchenko · Dec | Hit | Miss | Not called | |
| Rates Donchenko's varied striking as too dangerous for the more boxing-bound Soriano. “So, we'll believe in Donchenko to get the job done. And uh I do hope he shows us a bit of the patience, but he's live to knock Sorano out.” Track record: winner called in 75 of 109 resolved picks. | |||||
| Sportsbook Favourite call, market price 67.4%. Donchenko · KO/TKO · R2 | Donchenko · Dec | Hit | Miss | Miss | |
| Favours Donchenko's pressure and finishing habit over Soriano's underrated but less tested record. “I'm going to go with Daniel Donenko Biko in the second round.” Track record: winner called in 58 of 92 resolved picks. | |||||
| Sportsbook Favourite call, market price 67.4%. Donchenko · to win | Donchenko · Dec | Hit | Not called | Not called | |
| Rates Donchenko's striking a step ahead but stays open between a decision and a body-shot finish. “but Donenko striking I think is a step ahead and I think he gets this one done” Track record: winner called in 60 of 90 resolved picks. | |||||
| Sportsbook Favourite call, market price 67.4%. Donchenko · KO/TKO | Donchenko · Dec | Hit | Miss | Not called | |
| Cites Donchenko's varied, heavy striking and body work as too much for Soriano. “Man, I like Denil Donchenko knockout.” Track record: winner called in 30 of 49 resolved picks. | |||||
| Sportsbook Underdog call, market price 32.6%. Soriano · KO/TKO | Donchenko · Dec | Miss | Not applicable — the winner call missed | Not applicable — the winner call missed | |
| Rates Donchenko's style but reads his defence as too loose against Soriano's straight left and wrestling threat. “I'm a big fan of Denil Donchenko. I'm picking Punah Hele Soriano.” Track record: winner called in 83 of 126 resolved picks. | |||||
| Sportsbook Underdog call, market price 32.6%. Soriano · Dec | Donchenko · Dec | Miss | Not applicable — the winner call missed | Not applicable — the winner call missed | |
| Names this his underdog pick of the card, favouring Soriano's power and his win over Uros Medic. “So, I'm going to go Puna decision.” Track record: winner called in 26 of 36 resolved picks. | |||||
6 of 8 nailed it.
The experts above are a lens, not credentials we conferred — analyst, fighter or betting desk.
Odds
How the market called it — the final pre-fight line against the result, not betting advice.
Market read · 7 sportsbooks
Favoured: Donchenko (67%) Called it
Donchenko def. Soriano · Dec
Archive Pre-fight material — kept for transparency.
- 14-2-0
- Record
- 13-4-0
- 5-0 last 5
- Recent formRecent formWin–loss record over the fighter’s last five bouts, newest first, as carried in their UFC/FightMetric career stats.
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- StanceStanceWhich side a fighter leads from — a striking term, not a religious one. Orthodox: right-handed, left foot and hand forward (the common default). Southpaw: the mirror image, right side forward (usually a left-hander). Switch: changes between the two during a fight.
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- 79%
- Finish rateFinish %Finish rateThe share of a fighter’s wins that ended inside the distance — by KO/TKO or submission — rather than going to the judges’ scorecards. Higher means more finishes.
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- Sig. strikes absorbed / minAbsorbed / minSignificant strikes absorbed per minuteAverage number of significant strikes a fighter takes for every minute of fight time. Lower is better — it means they get hit less often. From UFC/FightMetric career stats.
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- Striking defenseStrike def.Striking defenseThe percentage of opponents’ significant strikes that do not land — strikes slipped, blocked or evaded. Higher is better. Not the same as striking accuracy, which counts your own strikes that land. From UFC/FightMetric.
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- Takedown defenseTD def.Takedown defenseThe percentage of opponents’ takedown attempts that are stuffed. Higher means harder to put on the mat. From UFC/FightMetric.
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- Avg. fight timeAvg. timeAverage fight timeThe mean length of the fighter’s bouts (minutes:seconds) — a rough read on whether they tend to finish early or go the distance. From UFC/FightMetric.
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- Ukraine
- Nationality
- United States
- Syndicate MMA and Tiger Muay Thai
- Team
- Xtreme Couture - Las Vegas, NV
Career stats per UFC.com; recent form is each fighter's last five bouts. Numbers reflect records coming into fight night. Bars compare each stat on a fixed scale; the “Edge” marker flags the leading corner where the gap is meaningful. The snapshot plots five career rates — output, striking defense, durability (strikes absorbed, inverted), takedown defense and finish rate — each normalised on its own scale.
Pre-fight analysis — how we saw it going in
Case for Donchenko
Donchenko lands 8.07 significant strikes a minute, comfortably the highest rate on this main card, and 62% of what he throws arrives — 210 landed from 337. He adds 2.30 knockdowns per 15 minutes behind a 70% striking defence, and at 24 he is nine years younger than Soriano. His last outing was a second-round stoppage of Theodor Berggren in June.
Case for Soriano
Soriano brings the deeper Octagon sample: 537 significant strikes landed from 1,001 thrown, against Donchenko’s 210, and a 10:08 average that says he is used to still being there in the third. He lands 4.42 a minute and has 31 takedown attempts on his UFC record — a route away from Donchenko’s best work.
What We Were Watching For
- Output gap: 8.07 significant strikes a minute for Donchenko against 4.42 for Soriano.
- Soriano defends 47% of significant strikes against the highest-volume striker on this main card.
- Knockdown average: 2.30 for Donchenko, 0.74 for Soriano.
- Soriano has attempted 31 takedowns in the UFC against a man who defends 75% of them.
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