ROBERTO “Robocop” Soldic knows that his long-awaited ONE Championship debut ended with a letdown. That’s why he’s eager to make an impression when he returns to the Circle.
Soldic returns to action when he battles former ONE Welterweight World Champion Zebaztian “The Bandit” Kadestam in what is expected to be a barnburner at ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson vs. Moraes III on May 6 (PH time) at the sold-out 1stBank Center in Colorado.
The Croatian’s debut didn’t quite live up to the hype, though it was far from his fault. He got tagged by an inadvertent low blow from Murad Ramazanov. It was such a solid shot that not even a five-minute recovery break was enough for him to return.
Now he plans to make the most out of this second chance.
“The first fight, I didn’t like it. Everybody knows what happened with the groin strike. I was really sad that I didn’t show my skills [in my debut]. But now it’s time to show my skills because I have a fight on May 5 in America. It’s very good for me,” he said.
“I am super excited to fight outside Europe, and to fight in the USA is one of my dreams. So it’s a dream come true. I’m ready. I feel great.”
Against Kadestam, expectations are high.
The Swede is known for his no-nonsense approach and his willingness to put together great fights. But this also suits Soldic’s style. In fact, he believes this fight will be problematic for Kadestam.
“He is a kill-or-be-killed type of guy. It’s not good for him if he does this with me. If he stands a lot with me, that will be a big problem. I’m a complete fighter. I can do everything. I always plan to keep moving forward and destroy these guys [in front of me],” he said.
Should he hurdle Kadestam, the 28-year-old isn’t closing doors on rematching Ramazanov, but he insists that his focus is entirely on “The Bandit” right now.
“Maybe at the end of the year, I’ll fight with Murad for a rematch. Maybe for the belt. I don’t know what the plan is, but really, I’m focused on Zebaztian,” he said.
“It’s going to be a good fight. He’s a tough guy. I like the challenge. Of course, I never chose any opponent, so I took him because they offered me one.”