The evolution of Rade Opacic's musical influence

Rade Opacic’s musical tastes have been influenced by where he lives, but wherever he may be, it has always served the same purpose – to hype him up.

In a recent interview, the hulking Serbian revealed that he was influenced by North American music in his youth, saying:

“I was in Canada for some years when I was young and, at that time, I used to listen to hip-hop and rap... French Montana, Drake, Lil’ Wayne. All those kinds of [rappers] I used to listen to.”

Rade Opacic’s family moved to Canada when he was 14 years old and was naturally drawn to what was popular in the region at the time.

When he moved back to Serbia, his preference for rap music remained.

“I stick more to Serbian rap music that people probably haven’t heard of... That’s what I like when I train, when I’m in the car, it doesn’t matter where.”

As Opacic immersed himself in the local music scene, he also was inspired by a famous Serbian war song “Hriste Boze.” That's because of the message it conveyed of leaving everything in the battlefield.

“That was my walkout song in the last fight against Patrick Schmid. It’s an old Serbian song that Serbian armies sing before going to war... It’s really pumped up music that [makes you feel like] it doesn’t matter who’s in front of you, you’re going to go and try to hurt him.”

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Rade Opacic returns to action at ONE: Only the Brave

Rade Opacic will resume his climb to become a world champion when he makes his way back to the Circle at ONE: Only the Brave on Friday, January 28.

The 24-year-old will face up-and-coming kickboxer Francesco Xhaja as he makes his promotional debut on the global stage. Xhaja carries a kickboxing record of 16-8 and will surely look to make an impressive introduction, much like Opacic did back in 2020.

Since arriving in the promotion, Opacic has racked up win after win in the Circle. He stopped his friend Errol Zimmerman in his debut and followed it up by knocking out two-time ISKA champion Bruno Susano.

His latest conquest is kickboxing veteran Patrick Schmid, who succumbed to the Serbian’s knees in the second round of their encounter.

Can Opacic continue his incredible three-straight stoppage streak, or will Xhaja finally hand him the first loss of his ONE Championship career?