Croatian middleweight Roberto Soldić returned to the cage in style out in Qatar at ONE 171, surrounded by massive names.
Soldić is widely regarded as one of the best fighters outside the UFC. He was the last man to defeat current UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus Du Plessis back in 2018. That was a rematch after Du Plessis snatched his welterweight belt earlier that year. It was a phenomenal fight and earned a fight-of-the-night bonus.
The 30-year-old has an illustrious MMA career so far and has found himself in ONE for his past few fights. It was a flat start in December 2022 with a no-contest against Murad Ramaznov due to a low blow. Following that, he suffered a loss in his second fight in the organisation against Swedish middleweight Zebaztian Kadestam. The first round went well for Soldić, but he was crumpled against the fence less than a minute into the second round in a brutal defeat. That was back in May 2023, and we did not see Soldić at all in 2024, but he returned in Qatar this evening at ONE 171. A huge event containing some of ONE’s best, the likes of Jonathan Haggerty and Jarred Brooks.
The opponent, Dagi Arslanaliev, was an up-and-coming Turkish fighter with a 100% finish record, a dangerous problem for Soldić if he was not on point. However, that was evidently not the case as Robocop took the roof of the Lusail Sports Arena. The left hand was picturesque from Soldić and left Arslanaliev out cold in the centre of the cage. Now at 21-4 with his only losses coming to big names, Soldić could be a great UFC signing in the future and possibly reignited his fire with Du Plessis.
Fight Camp for Roberto Soldić
For this fight, Soldić called in some top UFC talents for the fight camp. Massive UFC middleweight Paulo Costa made the trip over to Germany to help the Croatian sharpen his tools. Also in camp was new UFC welterweight Oban Elliott. After having a sensational 2024, he was helping the former KSW king, and former UFC Heavyweight Deron Winn was giving Robocop some rounds. The stacked mats clearly helped with a stunning first-round finish, and Soldić is bound for big things in 2025.
Were you happy to see Roberto Soldic get his first win in years? Let us know in the comments below!
Featured Image Credit via ONE Championship Youtube
