Watch: Punahele Soriano opens UFC Fight Island 7 with first-round TKO win over Dusko Todorovic

Punahele Soriano and Dusko Todorovic opened the UFC Fight Island 7 main card with a hot fight in the UFC middleweight division. The two 170 lbs contenders were unbeaten until their clash on tonight's event, and it was Punahele Soriano who managed to keep his record clean in the end.

Here is how the first main event UFC fight with the presence of a crowd since March 2020 played out:

PUNA!!! 🤯That's how you start the main card![ #UFCFightIsland7 continues on @ABCNetwork & #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/Hh1wbStskd

— UFC (@ufc) January 16, 2021

Round 1: Punahele Soriano started the first round looking apprehensive, while Dusko Todorovic had a serene look stuck to his face. The two went straight to action, with Punahele Soriano throwing a kick and Todorovic counter-attacking with a potent punch.

The first fight of the night for referee Herb Dean saw Todorovic, with his guard low, trying to find a gap to append one of his punches. But it was Punahele Soriano who ended up connecting the most significant hit of the fight with a left-hand jab to Todorovic's face.

By the end of the first round, Punahele Soriano hit a hard punch straight to Todorovic's face that took his mouthpiece out. The punch put the Serbian fighter on the ground. Punahele followed to punish Todorovic's body while he was on the floor.

Even though Todorovic tried to recover, Punahele Soriano continued to attack his opponent nonstop, sending Todorovic to the ground two more times until Dean decided to intervene and stop the massacre.

Result: Punahele Soriano defeated Dusko Todorovic via knockout in the first round.

Someone's '0' has go to go!Kicking off the main card with 🇺🇸 @Puna185 vs 🇷🇸 @Todorovic_UFC.[ #UFCFightIsland7 is LIVE on @ABCNetwork & #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/uLsn67kkil

— UFC (@ufc) January 16, 2021

What's next for Punahele Soriano?

Punahele Soriano could not perform in 2020 because of a series of injuries that kept him away from the octagon for over a year. But Soriano made fair use of his unwanted free time by analyzing his previous fights and examining how he could improve.

The 28-year-old fighter made his way into the UFC by winning Dana White's Contender Series when he defeated James Pickett in season three. His UFC debut came with a win via KO against Oskar Piechota at UFC 245.