That man was Roberto Soldic. The Croatian welterweight contender is the last man to defeat current UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis, and the heavy-hitting contender made his return to the ONE Championship circle in spectacular fashion against fellow knockout artist Dagi Arslanaliev.
The welterweight battle between the pair formed part of a loaded fight card in Qatar, and Arslanaliev started the bout in aggressive manner, as he pushed the pace early and let his punches and kicks fly in the opening exchanges.
While Arslanaliev was pushing forward throwing strikes, Soldic stayed compact as he downloaded the information he needed. Then, almost two minutes into the matchup, he struck.
As Arslanaliev threw a body kick, Soldic countered with a perfectly-timed left hook that sent Dagi flying through the air, before falling face-first into the canvas.
It was a perfect counter-punch and a stunning knockout as “Robocop” showcased the punch power that has made him one of the most feared knockout artists in European MMA.
After his victory, Soldic declared that, when he’s at his best, there isn’t a fighter in the world who can beat him, then called for a rematch against the man who dramatically knocked him out at ONE Fight Night 10 back in May 2023.
In the night’s main event, flyweight champion Joshua Pacio claimed victory in his trilogy bout with Jarred Brooks thanks to a second-round TKO finish of “The Monkey God”, while in the co-main event, ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion Jonathan Haggerty outworked Chinese striker Rui Wei for a unanimous decision win.
The event also saw two icons of ONE Championship announce their retirements from the sport. Former bantamweight champion Bibiano Fernandes laid down his gloves after his victory over longtime rival Kevin Belingon, while former two-weight champion Martin Nguyen also announced his retirement after his unanimous decision defeat to Shamil Gasanov.
ONE 171: Official results
- Joshua Pacio def. Jarred Brooks via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:22 – for flyweight title
- Jonathan Haggerty def. Rui Wei via unanimous decision – for featherweight kickboxing title
- Roberto Soldic def. Dagi Arslanaliev via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 1:55
- Shamil Erdogan def. Aung La N Sang via knockout (head kick) – Round 1, 0:28
- Shamil Gasanov def. Martin Nguyen via unanimous decision
- Bibiano Fernandes def. Kevin Belingon via split decision
- Kirill Grishenko def. Mauro Cerilli via KO (leg kick) – Round 1, 3:28
- Jake Peacock def. Shinji Suzuki via TKO – Round 3, 1:29 – Muay Thai
- Ayaka Miura def. Ritu Phogat via submission (kneebar) – Round 1, 2:24
- Kade Ruotolo def. Nicolas Vigna via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 1, 3:04
- Zayed Alkatheeri def. Mohammad Aburumuh via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 2:21 – submission grappling
- Abdullo Khodzhaev def. Wilian Poles via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:56
- Hussein Salem def. Walter Cogliandro via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 2:25
