ONE Championship: Chatri questions Roberto Soldic’s decision to wear ‘hard foam cup’ in debut
- Former two-division KSW champ made his promotional debut on Saturday in Manila, but was ruled out of fight after a low blow
- ONE CEO bemused by Croatian’s choice of protective gear, saying ‘I don’t know why he didn’t use a metal cup or a plastic cup’
Roberto Soldic’s ONE Championship debut ended in disaster – and the promotion’s CEO Chatri Sityodtong believes things might have unfolded differently if the fighter had chosen to wear a different protective cup.
Soldic (20-3), a former two-division champion in highly-regarded Polish MMA league KSW, made his anticipated ONE debut at Saturday’s Prime Video 5 event in the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, taking on unbeaten Russian wrestler Murad Ramazanov (11-0) with a shot at welterweight king Christian Lee seemingly on the line.
Unfortunately, the debuting Croatian absorbed a brutal – albeit accidental – low blow in the first round, and after writhing on the canvas for several minutes, could not continue.
“I don’t know why he didn’t use a metal cup or a plastic cup,” Chatri said of Soldic’s debut, which stands as a No Contest, at the card’s post-fight press conference. “His cup was hard foam. I don’t know who manufactures hard foam [cups].
“It’s crazy. He took a nut shot as if [it was] without a cup. You saw it. You heard it.”
From the moment Soldic’s fight with Ramazanov ended, there were questions about the road ahead for the two fighters.
A rematch was one obvious possibility, and according Chatri, there was some talk of booking a do-over for tonight’s ONE 164 card – the promotion’s second event of the day in Manila.