Who Is Roberto Soldic, The Last Man To Stop Current UFC Middleweight King Dricus Du Plessis?

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ONE Championship welterweight Roberto Soldic was one of the brightest gems during his time on the European MMA circuit. In 20 careers wins, he has knocked out 17 of his opponents with one of the most notable names being the reigning UFC Middleweight World Champion Dricus du Plessis.

This past weekend, Du Plessis submitted former middleweight king Israel Adesanya in the fourth round of their main event battle at UFC 305, defending his gold for the first time. But his last defeat came against Soldic in 2018.

Throughout their tenure in Europe's largest promotion, KSW, the pair were the fiercest fighters on the roster. Soldic was still a rising star at that time, but his form was impeccable as he brought a seven-fight winning streak into his first meeting with the South African.

Soldic had just made his promotional debut, beating Borys Mankowski badly enough that his corner threw in the towel ahead of the fourth round, handing the Croatian the KSW Welterweight Championship.

Then, the pair crossed paths for the first time. For European fans, seeing the two decorated strikers matched up made for a fascinating angle at KSW 43 in April 2018.

However, Soldic fell to Du Plessis in the first outing after a slobber knocker of an affair where "Robocop" gave his foe everything he could handle and more. Given the competitiveness of the bout, the matchmakers pit them together in an immediate rematch.

London, England, acted as the pair's stomping grounds at KSW 45 inside Wembley Arena with the welterweight strap on the line once more. And this was where Soldic elevated himself as the next rising star in MMA.

It was clear the Croatian knockout artist had taken a lot away from losing the gold. He showed that in rematching Du Plessis. Another barnburner took place, but this time the result had drastically flipped.

In the third round of their sequel, Soldic's unrelenting pressure and high volume of strikes forced the champion to wilt under the never-ending barrage of strikes, and he reunited with the KSW Welterweight Championship.

The knockout loss was the last defeat for Du Plessis, who has gone on to rule the UFC middleweight division. Meanwhile, Soldic went on to become a two-division king in KSW before becoming the hottest free agent in the sport in 2022 and then signing with ONE Championship.

"Robocop" is expected back inside ONE's renowned Circle in the near future, where he'll hope to make a strong campaign to find more welterweight gold in the world's largest martial arts organization.