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Zebaztian Kadestam believes a potential matchup with ONE newcomer Roberto Soldic would be a high-stakes fight.
‘The Bandit' claimed his sixth win in the promotion with a quick uppercut finish over Moldovan warrior Iuri Lapicus at ONE on Prime Video 1 last month. Now on a two-fight win streak, the former ONE welterweight world champion’s next move could be a duel with former two-division KSW champion Roberto Soldic.
With six knockouts in his last seven bouts, Soldic, like Kadestam, has a penchant for spectacular finishes. Given their impressive records, the South China Morning Post's Tom Taylor asked Zebaztian Kadestam if he believes their potential pairing would be for a No.1 contender spot, to which the 31-year-old Swede replied:
“For sure. I feel like the division right now we should have Ramazanov vs. Abbasov for the title and it should’ve been done already. I’m not sure what’s happening and then the winner, if we get this fight booked, the winner should fight for the title.”
Catch the full interview below:
Reigning ONE welterweight world champion Kiamrian Abbasov captured his strap by defeating Kadestam at ONE: Dawn of Valor in 2019. Since then, ‘Brazen’ has only defended the welterweight crown once.
Most recently, he attempted to become a two-division world champion, challenging Reinier de Ridder for the middleweight world title. Abbasov came up short, losing via third-round submission.
Zebaztian Kadestam believes martial arts gave him a purpose in life
Before his days as an elite mixed martial artist, Zebaztian Kadestam grew up as a troubled youth who found himself behind bars at a very early age.
“I was unfocused and made a lot of bad decisions as a kid,” Kadestam said. “I was 14 when I spent a year-and-a-half in a youth prison. I tried to escape twice, and the last time, they caught me. I was sent to isolation.”
During his hours of isolation, ‘The Bandit’ was left with his own thoughts. That’s when he realized that a change was necessary.
“That was when I said, ‘No, I cannot keep doing this.’”
It was then that Kadestam decided that he was going to dedicate his life to becoming a world champion.
“Since I was already training, I heard about another Swedish guy. After he got out, he went to Thailand, and he became a professional martial artist. Even though I was locked up, I said, ‘I am going to do this. I am going to become a World Champion.’”
Zebaztian Kadestam did exactly that when he defeated Tyler McGuire at ONE: Warriors Dream in 2018 to capture the ONE welterweight world championship. Now, with back-to-back wins, ‘The Bandit’ is ready to get back into the title hunt to recapture ONE gold.
