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In August, Croatian sensation Roberto Soldic shocked the MMA world when he revealed that he had signed with ONE Championship.
The former KSW two-division champion had been the hottest free agent to hit the market in years, with multiple promotions competing with one another for his services. In the end, ONE made the most sense for ‘Robocop’, who wants to test his skills across multiple sports.
During an appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong discussed the signing of Soldic. He revealed an entertaining story of how Soldic and himself ended up training in the basement of combat sports legend Mirko Cro Cop:
“Roberto Soldic [has a] full game, he’s legit. He’s legit. Funny story, I was in Zagreb, Croatia when we were closing things out and Mirko Cro Cop invites us to his house. It’s like, a surreal moment, you know? I was a Mirko fanboy as a kid and Mirko heard that he’s in town and he said, ‘You know come over to my house.’ And so Roberto, myself, and Mirko, and Ivan we’re at Mirko’s house. Mirko’s a madman. He’s training everyday, for three to four hours a day.”
Sityodtong continued his story, saying:
“He said ‘Come down to my basement, come down to my gym let’s all train together.’ I thought it was going to be half an hour, just like a short session. We ended up training for three hours straight. We had grappling, kicking, everything. Roberto is one of those phenom athletes where his balance is explosive. His speed, his IQ, he’s a rare talent, a really rare talent.”
Catch the full interview below:
Roberto Soldic has come to “take all the belts” in ONE Championship
For Roberto Soldic, ONE Championship was the most logical landing spot after being courted by multiple combat sports promotions around the world.
Not only is ONE Championship home to the toughest competition in mixed martial arts, but it also gives ‘Robocop’ the opportunity to challenge himself across multiple combat sports platforms.
Revealing that he had signed with the promotion during a conversation with esteemed MMA journalist Ariel Helwani, Roberto Soldic made it clear that he wanted to try his hand at everything that ONE haa to offer.
With that, he's looking to establish himself as one of the best to ever step inside the circle:
“When I finished the KSW contract, I had so many [offers], including UFC, ONE Championship, and I choose ONE Championship for sure because it’s the biggest martial arts [organization] in the world. They give me opportunity to take all the belts -- kickboxing world champion, Muay Thai world champion, MMA world champion, also boxing world champion. I want to create something for my people, my own legacy, so I chose ONE Championship for sure.”
Catch the full interview below:
