Roberto Soldic Is a Free Agent — and the UFC Is Circling Again

Roberto Soldic is a free agent. The Croatian knockout artist confirmed on Instagram that his ONE Championship contract has officially expired, ending a frustrating chapter that produced just three MMA fights and a 1-1-1 record. He's 31, carries 18 knockouts on his ledger, and — crucially — he's the only man ever to put Dricus du Plessis to sleep.

That last detail is why 'Robocop' keeps trending every time the UFC does a signing sweep. The promotion reportedly wanted him for a UFC Belgrade splash that never materialized, but with his ONE deal now dead, there's nothing legally standing between him and the Octagon. In his post he thanked ONE for the opportunity and framed the exit as a beginning, not an end.

The One That Got Away in 2022

This isn't a new courtship. The UFC made Soldic an offer back in 2022, and he passed, choosing ONE and the promise of competing under multiple rulesets. He walked away from Poland's KSW as a simultaneous two-division champ at welterweight and middleweight — the kind of resume that makes matchmakers salivate.

The problem was activity. Soldic barely fought in ONE, and the multi-ruleset pitch mostly fizzled. The highlight was a first-round demolition of Saygid Arslanaliev, still his most recent MMA outing. He also boxed, stopping former world champ Tomasz Adamek in the second round last year — proof the power hasn't gone anywhere even if the fights dried up.

The Money Question

Soldic hasn't hidden his reservations about UFC pay. He's said the 2022 offer was decent but nothing serious, and last year he bluntly noted he didn't want to fight for 50k and wait tables on Saturdays to fund his own camp. That's the tension here: the UFC clearly wants him, but he's proven he'll walk if the numbers don't add up.

The timing tracks with a broader UFC push for the sport's top unsigned names. The promotion recently landed Salahdine Parnasse — another former KSW two-division king, now 23-2 with a debut main event against Dan Hooker on the calendar. Soldic fits the same mold: European star, elite finisher, marketable nickname. Whether he signs comes down to one question he's already answered publicly — the money has to be right this time.