According to former Bellator middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi, ONE Championship has a sleeping giant in its welterweight division.
The Dutchman has sparred with Croatian superstar Roberto Soldic in the past, and he deems him the heaviest hitter he has ever encountered.
“The biggest puncher, I will give it to Roberto Soldic. He was the double champion in KSW. And now he’s fighting in ONE Championship,” Mousasi told talkSPORT.
“He went slow with me, but when he hits you, you feel the punch. He’s a naturally gifted heavy puncher. I haven’t seen anybody like that. Even if he doesn’t try to hurt you, he hurts you.”
Mousasi’s words should be taken as gospel.
After all, with nearly 50 professional wins and a swathe of titles across North America, Europe, and Asia to his name, the 37-year-old knows talent when he sees it.
Soldic spurned offers from the biggest promotions in the game to sign with ONE Championship in 2022.
His arrival to the Singapore-based outfit came with great fanfare, owing to the seven-fight winning streak he carried into free agency and the KSW welterweight and middleweight titles he won at Polish promotion KSW.
Things haven’t really gone to plan for the 28-year-old in ONE so far, however.
First, the Croatian’s highly anticipated promotional debut against Murad Ramazanov last December ended in a no contest. He was struck by an accidental low blow in the first round and was unable to continue with the match.
Then, after a dominant opening round against former welterweight king Zebaztian Kadestam at ONE’s historic U.S. on-ground debut show, ONE Fight Night 10, earlier this month, a well-placed elbow from the hulking Swede halted Soldic’s momentum and sent him reeling toward a knockout loss in the second frame.
Despite the unfortunate start to his tenure in ONE, “Robocop” still has an abundance of potential to become a global megastar. And if Mousasi is to be believed, then any fighter who comes up against Soldic inside the ONE circle should be very, very cautious because one punch could end it all.
