Soldic On Wasting Prime Years In ONE Championship

Roberto Soldic insists he holds no regrets over a four-year ONE Championship detour that cost him several prime years as a welterweight.

The former two-division KSW champion signed with the Asia-based promotion in August 2022 as one of mixed martial arts' hottest free agents but competed just three times before his contract expired. He makes his UFC debut against Khaos Williams at UFC 332 on Oct. 3 inside Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

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Soldic's Frustrating ONE Championship Run

Soldic's ONE tenure began disastrously when his debut against Murad Ramazanov ended in a first-round no contest after an accidental low blow left him unable to continue. He returned five months later and suffered a second-round knockout loss to Zebaztian Kadestam, then waited nearly two years before knocking out Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev at ONE 171 in February 2025. That finish proved to be his final appearance for the promotion.

"No, I don't regret it. At the time, everything was good. It is what it is," Soldic told Yahoo Sports, per MMA Mania. "Life goes on, and I had a good experience there. It needed to happen. I can't change anything that happened."

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The 31-year-old said his 10-fight deal was supposed to let him compete across MMA, Muay Thai and kickboxing, but those three-sport championship plans never materialized. He stayed somewhat active outside MMA by knocking out former boxing champion Tomasz Adamek in an exhibition bout last September, but one competitive fight between May 2023 and his contract expiration fell far short of his expectations when signing the lucrative deal.

"It was hard because I'm always training and always in shape, but I just never got any fights," Soldic said. "Sometimes I asked myself, 'Why do I train so hard when I don't get any fights?' It was a hard time, and I got a little depressed."

Soldic carries 18 knockouts among his 21 professional wins into the UFC's stacked welterweight division. Williams represents his first test on Oct. 3 in Utah.

Reported via:

• MMA Mania — UFC 332’s Roberto Soldic ‘doesn’t regret’ wasting his prime in ONE Championship – ‘It is what it is’