Many expected Roberto Soldic to get a big KO win in his UFC debut. After all, Soldic built a reputation of being one of the most dangerous strikers outside the UFC for many years.
Saturday, Soldic (22-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC) finally debuted in the octagon, defeating veteran Khaos Williams (16-6 MMA, 7-5 UFC) on the main card of UFC 332 in Salt Lake City. Soldic had a shaky start, getting dropped in Round 1, but went on to mount a comeback and batter Williams in the two subsequent rounds. The finish never came for Soldic, but he did come close in several instances.
"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."
Soldic felt his opponent was somewhat underestimated by the public. The former KSW champion felt he had a very tough task, a lot more difficult than what people made it out to be.
"He's an experienced fighter," Soldic said. "He was like 16-5, so 21 (fights), and with amateur 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 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."
In the end, despite not getting the finish. Soldic was very pleased with his UFC debut. He isn't disappointed in any way that he didn't get the finish.
"It was a good fight, tough opponent," Soldic said. "I took him very seriously. He took all my punches. I showed that I can also wrestle, and he take 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. He caught me a couple of times in the first round. He had really hard punches. There's a reason he's a one-punch KO artist. I took this fight seriously, and now I move to the next one. We'll see."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Roberto Soldic happy with decision win in UFC debut: 'Good experience'
