Roberto Soldic lists his martial arts heroes growing up

As an aspiring martial artist, Roberto Soldic idolized some of the best in the business during his formative years.

Soldic, 28, is on the cusp of becoming the next breakout global superstar in combat sports. Signing with ONE Championship after becoming a two-division champion under the KSW label, ‘Robocop’ is looking to get into the ONE welterweight title picture. He’ll have the opportunity to do just that on May 5 when he heads to the 1stBank Center in Colorado for ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video.

Before competing for the first time on American soil, Roberto Soldic sat down with MMA Sucka and recalled what the European combat sports scene was like growing up. In the process, he also listed some of the names that inspired him to pursue combat sports.

“That was exciting. Even kickboxing,” Soldic said. “[Guys like] Ernesto Hoost, [Xhavit] Bajrami, [Alistair] Overeem, so many guys, man. It was really exciting. I was small but I followed these guys. Even Stefan Leko, he’s also in Germany and I saw him a couple of times. He’s a good friend too. Those were my heroes when I was a kid.”

Sitting at 20-3 with an impressive 17 wins by way of knockout, Soldic will be tasked with taking out former ONE welterweight world champion Zebaztian Kadestam.

‘The Bandit’ is riding high after scoring back-to-back first-round knockouts of Valmir Da Silva and the late Iuri Lapicus. Kadestam has every intention of working his way back to a ONE world title opportunity. Going through a name like Roberto Soldic would certainly put him on a fast track to title contention.

Zebaztian Kadestam also comes into the bout boasting a 100% finish rate inside the Circle, guaranteeing that fans will be treated to an absolute banger in the ‘Mile High City.'

Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America can catch ONE Fight Night 10 live and for free in U.S. primetime on May 5.

Watch the interview below: