Providence’s Sean Soriano Eager To Represent His City At UFC Bout In Boston

Boxing legend Marvin Hagler said it best when he declared that it was tough to get up in the morning to do roadwork when you’re sleeping in silk pajamas. You could also say that Providence’s Sean Soriano and Boston’s Charles Rosa will have a tough time thinking about a New England rivalry while training under the sunny skies of South Florida.

Not so, says Soriano.

“You forget that you train in Florida and you remember where you’re from, so now it’s a Providence vs. Boston thing,” he said of next Sunday’s UFC Fight Night bout in Boston against Rosa. “Then it also goes to a Blackzilians vs. American Top Team thing.”

Training at Boca Raton’s Blackzilians gym, Soriano knows there’s always a little extra attached to a meeting between one of his teammates and a member of Rosa’s American Top Team squad, and when you add in the local flavor to the mix, this is a fight that has a lot of people talking up and down the Eastern seaboard. Yet for all the chatter, the 25-year-old Soriano is focused on the most important thing of all — winning.

“I take pride in where I’m from and I’m pretty sure he does too,” Soriano said. “And I like to represent my team and represent my city to the fullest, so it also plays a part. You don’t want to lose to the rival school or the rival city. But I’m really focused on getting the win more than anything.”