Roberto Soldic teases first fight with ONE Championship in cryptic Instagram post

In August, Roberto Soldic sent shockwaves throughout the world of mixed martial arts when he announced that he had signed with ONE Championship. As one of the biggest free agents to hit the market in years, it was Soldic’s desire to test his skills in multiple combat sports that ultimately led him to the Asian MMA organization.

While fans are eagerly awaiting the announcement of Soldic’s first bout inside the Circle, the Croatian monster is leaving cryptic messages on Instagram, leading fans to speculate as to who might share the cage with Soldic in his first ONE Championship appearance.

Originally breaking the news of his ONE Championship signing on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Roberto Soldic said that despite multiple lucrative offers, ONE Championship gave him the best chance to showcase his talents across multiple platforms.

“When I finished the KSW contract, I had so many [offers], including UFC, ONE Championship, and I choose ONE Championship for sure because it’s the biggest martial arts [organization] in the world. They give me opportunity to take all the belts -- kickboxing world champion, Muay Thai world champion, MMA world champion, also boxing world champion. I want to create something for my people, my own legacy, so I chose ONE Championship for sure.”

Watch the interview below:

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Who will meet Roberto Soldic in his first fight under the ONE Championship banner?

The moment Roberto Soldic revealed he was signed to ONE Championship, fans began speculating as to who the Croatian would face first. An early name, dropped by Soldic himself, was ‘The Underground King’ Eddie Alvarez. Soldic’s signing was closely lined up with Alvarez’s own comments that he was nearing a return to the Circle.

While the match-up certainly sounds like an exciting debut for Soldic, Zebaztian Kadestam may have nixed those plans after calling out Soldic following an impressive 57-second knockout of Iuri Lapicus at ONE on Prime Video 1. It was Kadestam’s second-straight first-round stoppage.

The former welterweight world champion is likely in line for a big-name opponent and there aren’t many bigger than Soldic at the moment. Of course, ONE Championship could go in a decidedly different direction, but testing Soldic against a former world champion with back-to-back knockouts does make a lot of sense.