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Croatian MMA star Roberto Soldic was one of the big winners at ONE 171: Qatar on Feb. 20. He said his victory was a warning to the rest of the field that his old self is back and that he is out to get more success in ONE Championship.
'Robocop' scored an impressive first-round knockout win over Dagi Arslanaliev in their welterweight MMA clash in the marquee Qatar event last week, which marked the promotion's return to the emirate for the second straight year. He caught his Turkish opponent with a well-timed counter left late in the opening round that dropped the latter to the canvas face down and unconscious.
At the post-event press conference, Soldic spoke about his KO win over Arslanaliev and its significance to his campaign moving forward.
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The 30-year-old UFD standout said:
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"But anyway, I said before the future is mine, and when I step into the cage, I will be a big problem for anyone you know. And I hope I fight for the title."
Watch the press conference below:
Win at ONE 171: Qatar a breakthrough for Roberto Soldic
The scintillating knockout victory of Roberto Soldic at ONE 171: Qatar was a breakthrough for Roberto Soldic after his first two matches in ONE Championship did not go in his favor.
The Croatian star joined the promotion in 2022 after establishing a name for himself in Europe's largest MMA promotion -- KSW -- where he was a two-division gold medal winner.
His first ONE opponent was Russian Murad Ramazanov in a match set for December 2022 in Manila, which unfortunately was ruled a no-contest after Soldic was hit by an accidental knee to the groin early in the first round that left him unable to continue after.
Roberto Soldic's next match took place in May 2023 against former welterweight champion Zebaztian Kadestam of Sweden. He did not last long either, knocked out by 'The Bandit' in the second round.
Making the win at ONE 171 more special was the $50,000 performance bonus that Soldic received from ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong for his impressive showing.
The full replay of ONE 171: Qatar is available via watch.onefc.com.
