Puno: A Family Legacy

Fighter profile of Adan Puno by Chris Karter

The name PUNO has become synominous with MMA fans across the world. When you hear the name, MMA fans can't help but think of the greatest bloodline to ever grace the sport. A long line of SYN champions and a pair of #1 P4P fighters.

Fidel Puno (34-8-0), an 8-time SYN Heavyweight champion, a former #1 P4P fighter and SYN Hall of Fame who posted a 21-7 record inside the organization. In fact, one could argue that the SYN organization was built on the blood, sweat, and tears of Fidel Puno, who dominated the org in his prime. The great Paul Keating was once quoted, "Watching Puno fight it looks almost as if God himself got bored one day and decided to descend from Heaven to kick all of our arses one person at a time." Now 82 years of age, Fidel watches his legacy career on through his grandchildren.

Kajun Puno (32-9-0), a former #1 P4P fighter who was voted the 2017 Fighter of the Year, holds a record of 26-4 inside the Heavyweight division. At one point he was on a 21-1 streak before suffering defeat at the hands of a much younger and prime version of Kimbo Slice. He's an 8-time world heavyweight champion and holder of 4 major world titles between Ascension, Underground, EVO, and SYN. He is the son of legendary MMA fighter Fidel "Pinoy Savage" Puno. His father's rigorous training system consist of swinging big hammers, throwing bigger rocks, and submitting crocodiles. A tradition passed down for generations.

Jeronimo Puno (24-10-0), perhaps the family's biggest disappointment despite a stellar MMA career. It's tough to live up to the P4P #1 expectations that comes from being a member of the Puno clan. He was once ranked the 3rd best Heavyweight on the planet and that still wasn't enough to appease Puno fans. He's a 2-time Combate Heavyweight champion and the first Puno to steer clear of the SYN organization, and perhaps that's where he went wrong, but fellow teammate Kilo Maluga was busy reigning and dominating the division. Jeronimo was no slouch, he racked up 19 wins by KO and 3 by submission, he always fought to finish the match. Much like his father and his grandfather, he stepped away from the game after a disappointing doctor stoppage. A fitting end for a 3rd generation Puno.

Adan Puno (16-5-0) is the younger brother of Jeronimo, and son of Kajun. He's a spitting image of his grandfather, albeit with a little less muscle mass, walking around 250 lbs. Despite having never won a bout by submission, he's a black belt in BJJ. He just loves to punch opponents into the shadow realm. 14 of his 16 victories have come by way of knockout. He's a 3-time Dynasty MMA champion and former SYN title challenger, having been defeated by Kilo Maluga. Despite not having a SYN championship on his resume, he's defeated some great Heavyweight fighters, including Jason Hightower, Kjetil Olsen, Cedric De Boise and back at The Last Shooting Star II event, he knocked out former SYN champion and former #2 P4P fighter Yago Steve in only 5 seconds, breaking or tying the fastest finish in SYN history.

Adan Puno is getting a second opportunity to achieve SYN greatness when he takes on the current SYN Heavyweight champion and future Hall of Famer Kilo Maluga for a 2nd time at SYN 1000. Adan hopes to have more success in this rematch than he did in the first fight, claiming that he may have gotten caught up in the bright lights ahead of their first showdown. Unlike his father Kajun and brother Jeronimo, Adan has trained exclusively at Tosen's Home for Lost Boys in Rio de Janeiro, claiming the American-run club of Convicted Fight Club is just too distracting - fit for animals and drug users - not civilized primal animals such as Adan.

Will Adan be able to capture SYN gold like his forefathers? Tune into the legendary SYN 1000 event to find out!

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