Issue 196

December 2022

Roberto Soldic arrived in ONE Championship as a much-hyped new signing, but his hotly-anticipated promotional debut ended in disappointment. Simon Head looks back at a frustrating night for "Robocop" in Manila.

When the news was announced that Roberto “Robocop” Soldic was testing free agency, the MMA community was enthralled. 

A dominant champion across Europe, the 27-year-old’s desire to see what opportunities would arise proved to be an exciting scenario for many.

Ultimately, the Croatian powerhouse signed with ONE Championship and made his promotional debut against undefeated Russian Murad Ramazanov at ONE Fight Night 5: De Ridder vs. Malykhin.

ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong deemed Soldic as the “hottest free agent in the world” upon attaining the welterweight MMA star’s signature.

“Robocop” enters the promotion with a multitude of accolades under his belt, including a double-champ reign at both welterweight and middleweight with Polish promotion KSW.

Despite riding a seven-fight winning streak into ONE, Soldic was strictly business as he prepped for his first outing in the ONE Circle.

“(The plan is) just win. I don’t care how. Submission, points, KO, it doesn’t matter to me. I just want to win the fight. Be smart, be sharp, be fast,” Soldic said ahead of his ONE debut.

“People always expect KOs from me because most of my fights are finished by KO, so I guess I could surprise with a submission – I also have good jiu-jitsu.

“ONE has put me in the fire straight away against a very tough guy. I respect him a lot, but I can say that he’s never faced anybody like me. I’m something different.”

The "very tough guy" in question, Ramazanov, has been on a tear of his own. The Russian grappling sensation is 11-0 in his professional career, which includes his most recent victory over former ONE welterweight champion Zebaztian Kadestam.

Ramazanov has impressed so much, even his close friend and compatriot, UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, predicted that he would soon win the promotion’s welterweight belt.

”He’s a complete MMA fighter, like everyone today," Soldic said.

"Everybody knows jiu-jitsu, everybody knows wrestling, boxing, conditioning. People think I don’t train wrestling because I finished my fights in the stand-up, but I’ve done wrestling every day for 10 years.

“He is good in the wrestling, really good control, like every Dagestan fighter. He has a good single-leg, switching to the body lock. He has good conditioning. His stand-up is okay.

“When I’m in the cage, it will be different. Nobody expects my wrestling and power to be so good, and when they go in the cage and see it, it shocks them. I will give him problems and if you don't watch out, it’ll be over, quick.”

Soldic's final prediction proved to be true, but not in the way he had hoped. His much-anticipated ONE debut was expected to bring fireworks, but it was over before it had barely even begun.

Soldic’s clash with Ramazanov in Manila resulted in a first-round stoppage, but neither man left the Circle happy as the bout ended in a no contest, thanks to an accidental foul that robbed both men, and the crowd, of a potentially explosive contest.

The bout started with both men sizing each other up from range, before Ramazanov eventually stepped into range and grabbed a single leg.

Soldic showed good balance as he attempted to stuff the Russian’s takedown attempt, but Ramazanov was persistent and, after forcing his man back against the fence, eventually managed to get Soldic down to the canvas.

Despite being taken down, Soldic immediately worked to get himself back to his feet and, despite Ramazanov weighing heavily on him against the fence, the Croatian managed to wall-walk himself back to his feet.

But, just after “Robocop” returned to a vertical base, Ramazanov hit him hard with a knee to the groin that sent Soldic to the mat in clear agony.

With Ramazanov protesting his innocence across the cage, a clearly distressed Soldic tried in vain to shake off the pain before referee Herb Dean eventually waved off the bout and ruled the fight a no contest.

It meant that Soldic’s eagerly-anticipated debut ended in something of a non-event, while Ramazanov’s chance to add a big-name scalp to his record also fell by the wayside.

As debuts go, it was something of a false start for "Robocop," but, despite an unfortunate debut, Soldic still has big plans for his ONE career, including bringing a show back to his homeland.

"I want to create my own legacy," he told ONE.

"This is now the world stage for me, and something new for me that has motivated me for training. 

"Chatri gave me a lot of respect. He was in the arena [in Zagreb] and said, ‘I’m going to do ONE Championship here with you,’ and this was also something special. 

"To bring ONE Championship to Zagreb, that is a big, big move for me, and also for my people in my country – in Croatia and in Bosnia."

And when it comes to booking Soldic for his next fight, one name leaps off the page. Sweden's Zebaztian Kadestam is a former ONE welterweight champion and a fellow striker with legitimate knockout power. Former two-division ONE champion Aung La N Sang called for the ONE matchmakers to book that matchup, saying, "It's going to be a hell of a fight if he and Kadestam fight. It's going to be a great fight, for sure."

"Robocop" versus "The Bandit?" Sign us up!