Roberto Soldic Survives Two Knockdowns to Win UFC Debut at UFC 332
The former KSW two-division champion rallied from a rough first round to beat Khaos Williams by decision.
Roberto Soldic's UFC debut went sideways early, and that turned out to be the best thing about it.
The former two-division KSW champion took on Khaos Williams in a welterweight bout at UFC 332 on Saturday night at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. Williams came out firing and dominated the opening round, stunning Soldic and dropping him twice. It looked like the octagon debut was going to be a short one.
It was not.
Soldic survived the first-round storm, secured a late takedown for ground control, and then took over the fight. In rounds two and three, he poured on body shots, head kicks and combinations while mixing in takedowns to keep Williams guessing. He stunned Williams multiple times down the stretch and controlled the action on the mat.
The judges scored it 29-28, 29-27, 29-27 for Soldic, giving the 31-year-old "Robocop" a unanimous decision victory in his first octagon appearance.
The performance answered a question that had been hanging over Soldic since the UFC signed him: could he handle the step up in competition? Williams is a dangerous striker with knockout power, and Soldic walked right through his best shots before turning the fight around with the kind of grit that wins over UFC audiences.
This is how you introduce yourself to the UFC. Not with a flashy knockout, but by showing everybody that you can eat the worst a dangerous guy has to offer and still take his lunch money.
Two knockdowns in the first round of your octagon debut would break most fighters mentally. Soldic just reset, found his timing, and systematically took over. The body work in rounds two and three was beautiful, and the wrestling gave Williams problems he clearly did not prepare for.
The welterweight division is absolutely stacked right now, and nobody is going to hand Soldic a ranking off one win over Khaos Williams. But the tape from this fight tells you something the record does not: this guy has a chin, he can adjust mid-fight, and he is not afraid to grind when the striking gets uncomfortable. That is a dangerous combination at 170 pounds.
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