ONE Championship ONE Championship ONE 171: Qatar saw beloved Croatian brawler Roberto “Robocop” Soldic pick up his first win in the world’s largest martial arts organization – and he did it with an early contender for Knockout of the Year.
Soldic needed just under two minutes to land a thunderous left hook on Turkish star Dagi Arslanaliev in their welterweight MMA clash at Lusail Sports Arena last Thursday, February 20,
It was a much-needed victory for the 30-year-old.
After joining ONE Championship as the sport’s biggest free agent back in 2022, Soldic went winless with a no contest and a shocking knockout loss in his first two promotional appearances.
With his back firmly against the wall in Qatar, the highlight-reel knockout of Arslanaliev delivered in a big way. After the fight, Soldic told the assembled media that he was elated with the result:
“It feels good. I feel amazing. It is what I do always. This is my job, you know, and I’m not surprised because I know what I can do. I’ll keep going. Sometimes you have in life ups and downs, but now, everything is alright.”
winnataOn Saturday, the 75-year-old left Venezuela and filed an asylum request with Spain. As per Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, Gonzalez, left after "voluntarily seeking refuge in the Spanish embassy in Caracas several days ago."
Injuries had kept “Robocop” on the sidelines since his defeat to former ONE Welterweight MMA World Champion Zebaztian Kadestam in May 2023.
The always stoic Soldic admitted the long layoff was a needed break from competition – but that now was certainly the right time to return:
“Sometimes it’s good to take some breaks from the fights. I missed [competing] now. Twenty months is enough time. I did my job. I performed. It’s nothing new for me.”
With the victory, Soldic handed Arslanaliev the first stoppage loss of his impressive MMA career and immediately put himself in the ONE Welterweight MMA World Title picture.
Now that he’s finally backed up the massive hype and proven he belongs among the welterweight MMA division’s upper echelon, “Robocop” is all business and has the World Title on his mind:
“I said it before, the future is mine. And when I step in the cage, I will be a big problem for anyone. I hope I fight for the title.”
Roberto Soldic didn’t escape his first ONE victory without a small bit of controversy.
Moments after his KO of Dagi Arslanaliev, just before the decision was read, there appeared to be some confusion between the two camps with words shared on both sides.
According to Soldic, some of his opponent’s coaches were upset about his follow-up blow following the crushing knockdown:
“Some of his teammates, they asked me why I hit him on the ground. But it was still in the fight. The referee was on my back, and I didn’t see him. I had to finish the guy.”
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