Roberto Soldic’s much-anticipated ONE Championship debut ended before it had barely even begun.
Soldic’s clash with Russia’s Murad Ramazanov was set to pose a stern test of the Croatian’s credentials at ONE Fight Night 5 in Manila, but an accidental foul forced an early end to proceedings, with an outcome that left neither fighter satisfied.
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.
ONE Fight Night 5: Official Results
MAIN CARD
- Anatoly Malykhin def. Reinier de Ridder via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:35 – for light heavyweight title
- Kade Ruotolo def. Matheus Gabriel via unanimous decision – for lightweight submission grappling title
- Roberto Soldic vs. Murad Ramazanov ruled a no contest (accidental groin strike) – Round 1
- Jackie Buntan def. Amber Kitchen via unanimous decision – Muay Thai bout
- Lowen Tynanes def. Dae Sung Park via split decision
LEAD CARD
- Edson Marques def. Eduard Folayang via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 2:53
- Tye Ruotolo def. Marat Gafurov via submission (wrist lock) – 5:09 – submission grappling match
- Oumar Kane def. Zhasur Mirzamukhamedov via unanimous decision
- Denice Zamboanga def. Lin Heqin via split decision
