Roberto “Robocop” Soldic knows he didn’t have the ONE Championship debut that anyone was expecting, and he’s looking to make up for it in his sophomore outing at ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson vs. Moraes III on May 5. The Croatian superstar is set to meet former ONE Welterweight World Champion Zebaztian “The Bandit” Kadestam at 1stBank Center in Denver, Colorado, that evening – at what will be ONE’s first-ever live show in North America.
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For Soldic, this bout is a perfect chance to execute the game plan he had in his first appearance in the Circle and show the world what he has in store for his tenure at the Singapore-based promotion.
Roberto Soldic wanted to showcase his skills after the previous disappointment
Speaking to ONE, he said, “The first fight, I didn’t like it. Everybody knows what happened with the groin strike. I was really sad that I didn’t show my skills [in my debut]. But now it’s time to show my skills because I have a fight on May 5 in America. It’s very good for me.”
“Robocop” met Murad Ramazanov in his promotional bow at ONE on Prime Video 5 last December. Their welterweight clash came with a hefty amount of hype surrounding it, given both fighters’ reputations, but it ended with a disappointing no-contest ruling after Ramazanov landed an unintentional low blow on Soldic that left him unable to continue.
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The former two-division KSW champion had been faring well against his Russian foe’s intense wrestling game up until the fateful strike, however, and that left many wondering who would have won had the bout gone on. Soldic won’t get a chance to provide fans with an answer when he steps inside the Circle on May 5, but the opportunity to face a former World Champion at ONE’s first venture into the U.S. was too good to refuse.
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Roberto Soldic expressed his excitement about fighting in ONE Championship
The 28-year-old powerhouse will be ticking off a major career goal at the historic event, and he is ready to show the higher-ups in the organization exactly why he was one of the hottest properties in mixed martial arts when they approached him to join last year.
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He said, “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. I feel really excited because this was also my dream to fight on the world stage. And ONE Championship gave me everything that I needed. And everybody knows that. Mr. Chatri, the CEO, flew to Zagreb to have a press conference with me. I signed with ONE, and we made a deal.”
Catch the welterweight showdown between Soldic and Kadestam at ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson vs. Moraes III on Friday, May 5.