Soldic admits UFC pay 'not even close' to One Championship but vows to stay

Roberto Soldic has openly acknowledged that his new UFC contract pays far less than what he earned at One Championship, yet the Croatian middleweight insists he is happy with the move and wants to remain with the promotion long-term. Soldic (21-4) is scheduled to make his UFC debut against Kalinn Williams (16-5) in a middleweight bout at UFC 332 on 3 October at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

“No, not even close. But I’m happy,” Soldic told Ariel Helwani. “I think I had the best offer [four years ago] as a fighter — I had a very good offer — but One had a little bit bigger offer. I took the chance to go with One because they promised me some kickboxing stuff, some muay thai stuff. They offered me 10 fights; I only do three; the contract expired. It is what it is. I’m happy now with the UFC; it’s a good offer. I want to stay here.”

Soldic’s path to the UFC has been a winding one. Before joining One Championship in 2022, he was a two-division champion in the Polish promotion KSW and had been in talks with the UFC at that point. He now reveals that the offer he received from the UFC back then was actually better than his current deal — only for One Championship to edge it out with a slightly higher guarantee and the promise of kickboxing and muay thai competition.

Those multi-discipline bouts never materialised. Despite signing a 10-fight contract with One Championship, Soldic competed just three times for the Asian promotion, exclusively in MMA, posting a record of 1-1 with one no-contest before his contract expired.

Now settled in the UFC, Soldic faces a stern test on debut in Williams, a durable middleweight with 16 wins to his name. A strong performance in Salt Lake City would go a long way toward securing the long-term UFC future Soldic says he is chasing, even if the pay packet is a step down from what he was accustomed to.