ONE Championship added an exciting prospect to its deep roster of talent this past Monday. KSW welterweight and middleweight champion Roberto “Robocop” Soldic has inked a deal with the Singapore-based promotion, as announced on The MMA Hour.
Soldic also noted the stiff competition he expects to meet inside the Circle as a reason for his decision, and he pointed toward the difficulty that top stars have faced when they transitioned to ONE to explain that it was the best move for him.
“It’s the biggest promotion in the world. You know what happens to UFC stars when they go to ONE – they lose,” he said. “They cannot take the ONE belt. So this makes me want to be a different fighter. I want to try and take this belt where UFC fighters failed. They don’t show up there. When I watched the live ONE show, I see different striking game [and] grappling game.”
On Tuesday, ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong joined the highly-regarded talent for a press conference, and he reiterated the opportunities that Soldic will have under the ONE banner.
“I think he has a big opportunity to become, potentially, the greatest combat sports athlete ever in history,” Sityodtong said. “Of course, we don’t know. I’m saying that’s the opportunity Roberto has. Will he achieve it? We will see. But he’s going to be facing a lot of monsters and killers at ONE. It’s not going to be easy.”
Soldic’s debut has yet to be announced, but the Croatian stated he would like to debut in the fall.
Stay tuned to Combat Press for more on Robocop’s first fight in ONE.