“Similar to his style” - Dagi Arslanaliev throws shade at Roberto Soldic ahead of their slugfest at ONE 171: Qatar

Dagi Arslanaliev may be insinuating a harsh criticism against his upcoming opponent.

The ONE veteran has proven to be one of the best fighters in the promotion, amassing an 8-2 record in the lightweight MMA division. In his return from a lengthy absence in the all-encompassing sport, he will compete in the welterweight ranks against one of the most feared fighters in the world.

On Feb. 20, Arslanaliev will return at ONE 171: Qatar against Roberto Soldic, a well-respected fighter who has yet to find his footing in ONE Championship.

During an interview with ONE, Arslanaliev threw an underhanded comment about Soldic when he described fighters he is sparring with:

“We didn’t have anyone exactly like him, but there were guys who didn’t really want to train or fight, which is somewhat similar to his style."

Dagi Arslanaliev vs. Roberto Soldic will take place inside the Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail, Qatar. ONE 171: Qatar will showcase two world title fights, which can be seen for free via watch.onefc.com.

In the main event, Jonathan Haggerty looks to bounce back from losing his bantamweight Muay Thai world title by defending his kickboxing throne for the first time.

Haggerty has been matched up against Wei Rui, who defeated former world champion Hiroki Akimoto in his promotional debut.

As for the co-main event, the February 20 event features the trilogy bout between Joshua Pacio and Jarred Brooks to determine the undisputed strawweight MMA world champion.

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Roberto Soldic looks for first ONE Championship win against Dagi Arslanaliev

Roberto Soldic signed with ONE Championship in 2022 as arguably the biggest MMA free agent at the time.

Soldic's promotional tenure started with an unexpected outcome after Murad Ramazanov accidentally landed a groin strike, leading to a no-contest.

In May 2023, Soldic returned to action and suffered a second-round knockout loss against the always-dangerous Zebaztian Kadestam.

At ONE 171: Qatar, Soldic plans to put the welterweight division on notice by securing his first promotional win against Dagi Arslanaliev.

Meanwhile, Arslanaliev has an opportunity to quickly establish his presence at welterweight. The former ONE lightweight contender has built a solid resume under the ONE banner, including two wins against Timofey Nastyukhin.

With a win against Soldic, Arslanaliev would put himself in line to challenge the welterweight king, Christian Lee.