By:  | March 31, 2023 9:50 am

Roberto Soldic’s ONE Championship debut definitely didn’t go the way he would have wanted. The Croatian was unable to continue after receiving a low blow from Murad Ramazanov in the opening round.

There had been a lot of hype surrounding the former KSW middleweight and welterweight champion. But fans barely got a glimpse of him at ONE Fight Night 5 and it was a real anticlimax for the Croatian,

“I was really sad that I didn’t show my skills. But now it’s time to show my skills because I have a fight on May 5th in America. It’s very good for me.”

 

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Other plans

He had been expected to rematch Ramazanov immediately. But matchmakers had a different opponent in mind and Soldic will now face former welterweight champion Zebaztian Kadestam at ONE Fight Night 10 in May.

It seems the fight was already in the works before the no contest in Manila. Soldic was expecting an immediate rematch with Ramazanov but soon discovered that ONE Championship had other ideas,

“After my debut fight, the matchmaker came inside the room and said, ‘we have other plans for you’. They put me in America so I’m going to fight. What can I do? I cannot wait.”

Soldic had competed all across Europe but ONE Fight Night 5 was his first time fighting in Asia. His next contest takes place on American soil and the 28 year old says he is ‘super excited’,

“I am super excited to fight outside Europe, and to fight in the USA is one of my dreams. So it’s a dream come true. I’m ready. I feel great.”

Going global

Soldic was born in Vitez which has a population of just over 6,000 people. As a child growing up in rural Croatia he could never have dreamed that one day he would be representing his country in cities all  across the world,

“This is a motivation for me because I came from a small village in Bosnia, and now I’m fighting on the world stage in the USA. This is a really big thing for my people, my country, and me. I fought everywhere in Europe. And now, it’s time to go deeper and go to a different world, like the USA and Asia.”

European fans know all about Soldic who fought across the continent, establishing himself as one of the best fighters in the region in two different divisions. But he is ready to go global and reiterates just how excited he is to be fighting in the US for the first time in his career,

“I always try to put on good pressure and finish the guy with my skills. I hope I have shown that with what I did before in KSW and in Cage Warriors. I cannot wait for this one, especially because it’s in the USA. I’m very excited.”