Roberto Soldic recalls "very tough" start to his professional martial arts career

Croatian MMA sensation and ONE Championship newcomer Roberto Soldic is just a day away from making his debut on the world stage at ONE on Prime Video 5. Across the circle from him will be undefeated ONE welterweight mauler Murad Ramazanov in a possible world title eliminator.

Ahead of his much-awaited ONE debut, Roberto Soldic looks back at his long journey as a martial artist, from his humble beginnings to his biggest fights. In an interview with ONE Championship, 'Robocop' recounts his tough early days in professional fighting:

"This was a really small gym. In the gym, it was one room, no bed, very dirty, it was very hard, cold food, no toilet, no kitchen. It’s crazy, it was very tough, and then I trained with [former Respect FC welterweight champion] David Zawada and his brothers. Then they came, some people, good wrestlers, and then I kept going."

The paths of martial artists and professional athletes are similar in the sense that they are both never easy. But nobody chooses this journey because it is easy. Fighters like Soldic understand that adversity breeds champions, and the greater your sacrifices, the greater your achievements will be. Nothing great ever came easy.

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Roberto Soldic feels "a little bit of pressure" ahead of ONE Championship debut

Leading up to his debut inside the ONE Championship circle, Roberto Soldic is riding an impressive seven-fight winning streak with six knockouts under his belt. 'Robocop' also has numerous European championship belts on his resume, namely Superior FC, FFC, and KSW.

In more ways than one, 'Robocop' is the most hyped Croatian native fighter since the great Mirko Cro Cop. This huge amount of attention and hype, however, can cause some unnecessary pressure on a fighter.

When asked if there's any pressure felt due to the attention he's getting, Roberto Soldic said:

"It's a little bit of pressure, but nothing special. I use this pressure in my fights and training. I put in hard work. I don't take time to relax. I'm focused on my goals all the time. And it's not easy, of course, but people expect always that I finish my opponents and everything. This is also more pressure than normal but I handle it well. I don't have any problems with that. I stay grounded, trying to be humble all the time with the guys, with the sparring partners, with my family, with my friends."

ONE on Prime Video 5: De Ridder vs. Malykhin broadcasts live on Friday, December 2, and is free for fans in the United States and Canada with an Amazon Prime subscription.

Watch the full interview here: