“I can show something special” - Dagi Arslanaliev vows to take Roberto Soldic to deep waters in their welterweight MMA war

Dagi Arslanaliev won't let Roberto Soldic use him as a stepping stone at ONE 171: Qatar.

The Turkish heavy-hitter will tussle with the Croatian sensation in a three-round welterweight MMA battle in the promotion's highly-awaited return to Lusail Sports Arena on Feb. 20.

Arslanaliev and Soldic are both heralded for their finishing abilities and penchant for taking the judges out of the equation.

Knowing what 'Robocop' is capable of, Arslanaliev acknowledged that he must proceed with caution. As such, he won't look for the early home run and would prefer to do his damage in round 3 once Soldic slows down.

The 30-year-old star told ONE Championship:

“For me, it would be better to take the fight to the later rounds. That way, when my opponent tires, I can show something special to the audience.”

Dagi Arslanaliev is certainly taking a page out of the last man to beat Soldic, Zebaztian Kadestam.

The former welterweight MMA world champion was able to survive the UFD Gym affiliate's early onslaught in their epic slugfest at ONE Fight Night 10 back in 2023.

'The Bandit' responded with a chilling come-from-behind KO victory in the ensuing round. By the looks of it, Arslanaliev will look to employ a similar game plan at ONE 171.

Roberto Soldic says he'll give Dagi Arslanaliev all sorts of problems

Roberto Soldic is hell-bent and redemption and will stop at nothing to get that elusive first victory in the home of martial arts.

Despite his rough stretch, 'Robocop' remains confident that he can bull rush his way to victory against the equally dynamic Arslanaliev. Soldic shared in a recent UFD Gym vlog post on YouTube:

"Yeah. I’ll be ready for this, you know. I like to train. I train hard always and I give problems in the cage."

Check out onefc.com for more details about ONE 171: Qatar