Watch: Punahele Soriano finishes Dalcha Lungiambula with a missile of a left hand to secure an early Round 2 stoppage at UFC Long Island

UFC Long Island strikes again, this time with Punahele Soriano putting an end to his losing streak with an explosive knockout against the always dangerous Dalcha Lungiambula.

The South African dropped to 11-5 after suffering his third-straight defeat inside the octagon. In a battle to potentially save his job in the UFC, the power puncher was on the wrong end of a finish for the third time in his past five fights.

Punahele Soriano was understandably ecstatic after ending his middleweight clash early into the second round. He dropped his opponent with a piston of a left hand that led to the finish.

Watch Soriano KO Lungiambula below:

The Hawaiian couldn't contain his emotions following the huge win, and exuded happiness on the mic while talking to Daniel Cormier. The 29-year-old hopes to kick on in a tough 185lbs weight class.

Punahele Soriano's win sees him halt a rough run in his career. Back-to-back fights against Nick Maximov and Brendan Allen gave the knockout artist the first two losses of his time in the sport.

The event's prelims have seen some solid performances from fighters, but this finish in a heavy-hitting middleweight bout stands high on the list of 'must-see' moments of the night.

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What's next for Punahele Soriano?

Soriano improved to 3-2 in the UFC and will soon be knocking on the door of the division's elite. He must now face and beat another rising contender to be counted among the best in the weight class.

There are a handful of promising stars wanting their opportunity to rise through the rankings. So, the Xtreme Couture representative will have no trouble finding a willing opponent.

Punahele Soriano could find himself in a stand-up war against the highly touted Phil Hawes. The 33-year-old is fresh off a dominant win over Deron Winn last month. He would relish the chance to steal away another contender's hype while putting pressure on the ranked 185 pounders.

Chidi Njoukani has been on a tear since arriving in the UFC fresh off Dana White's Contender Series. A 16-second knockout of Marc-Andre Barriault was followed by a devastating elbow knockout against Dusko Todorovic. The power striker will be an extremely challenging test for the Hawaii native.

Roman Dolidze, Ian Heinisch, and Anthony Hernandez are three more talented middleweights who could stand across the octagon from Soriano next.