Roberto Soldić’s UFC career is off to a great start with a unanimous decision victory over Khaos Williams at UFC 332 in Salt Lake City.
It was a good start to the UFC for Roberto “Robocop” Soldic, but after a less-than-ideal start to his debut, he turned it around and showed that one of the most respected fighters to come out of the European MMA scene could be. Soldić won his debut by unanimous decision: 29-28, 29-27, 29-27.
Soldić survives difficult UFC debut start
The first round was an early test for the Croatian. Williams, an American known for his knockout power, stunned Soldić twice with right hands, sending him crashing to the floor and showing for the first time just how dangerous the American was. Ryan was able to slow the momentum of the fight, settle back down and reverse the direction of the fight after finding a takedown towards the end of the round and finishing the first five minutes from a much more comfortable position.
But in the second round, the fight gradually became Soldić’s fight, as the Croat started to find his target with head-and-body combinations before taking the fight to the mat.
The pressure, punching, and control of Soldić slowly took its toll on the tiring yet dangerous Williams, who could not keep up with the pace of the Croatian. So the third round was the same, and Soldić convincingly took the decision.
A significant moment for Croatian MMA
Soldić entered the UFC with a reputation as one of the best knockout artists in Europe. At the age of 31, Soldić had won two division championships in KSW before joining ONE Championship. When he finally signed with the UFC, he came with an already solid 21-4 record with 18 of those wins coming by knockout.
His debut in the UFC was highly anticipated, especially considering he had already fought outside the UFC at a very high level, and now, after finally making his UFC debut, he goes home with his first UFC win. Soldić proved that he is capable of winning when the fight does not go quite according to plan.
What is next for Roberto Soldić?
If Soldić has managed to get on the radar of the entire UFC welterweight division immediately, it is. Many already had the fight between two impressive fighters, Barao and Soldić, but Soldić showed already from the beginning that his game is not just knockout puncher.
Even after a hard beginning, Soldić took over the fight and implemented the game with great success of strikes and wrestling. The message from Salt Lake City is clear: Roberto Soldić has arrived in the UFC, and his first victory could be a first step toward much more.
Soldić was in Vitez, Bosnia and Herzegovina. With limited opportunities to develop seriously in MMA in Vitez, he trained at gyms across Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia before moving to Düsseldorf in 2015, where he began working with coach Ivan Dijaković at UFD Gym.
Soldić has recalled arriving in Germany with little more than two bags and living very modestly at first, even staying in the gym.
