Dropped twice, Roberto Soldic flipped the fight to win UFC debut

Roberto Soldic showcased his full skill set without chasing a finish in his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut.

Soldic bounced back from a shaky opening round to beat Kalinn Williams via unanimous decision at UFC 332 on Saturday in Salt Lake City. The former KSW champion recovered after being dropped twice by Williams in the first round, controlling much of the final two frames.

Roberto Soldic explains how he recovered against Kalinn Williams at UFC 332

Soldic entered the matchup with a reputation for devastating knockout power but has no regrets about the fight going to the scorecards against the experienced Williams, whom he credited for his durability after the win.

“I didn’t rush. I just took my win,” Soldic said at the UFC 332 post-fight press conference. “I don’t want to prove I have to kill somebody. I have to win and just show my skills and that’s it. He’s an experienced fighter. He was like 16-5, so 21 fights with amateur of 33 fights. He had 11 fights on the big stage, so 7-4. You can fight with one or two guys who fought in the UFC, but the guy had 11 fights in the UFC. That’s something different. He’s seen the crowds, the cage, the people. For me, it was all new. I came here as a guest. It was a good fight, tough opponent.”

“Robocop” had not fought since February 2025, when he made his final appearance in One Championship. The Croatian is content with his performance after the extended layoff.

“He took all my punches,” Soldic added. “I showed that I can also wrestle, and he took a lot of punches, also crazy high kick, ground and pound, left hooks and right hook. It was a good experience. I hadn’t fought for one and a half years. Three rounds. This fight means a lot for me because I see I have the condition for five rounds, and I see I don’t get tired; I was always going forward.”

Soldic enters a deep welterweight division and owns a knockout victory over former UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis.

Source: sports.yahoo.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.