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.
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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.