Roberto Soldic Wins His UFC Debut Over Khaos Williams
Roberto Soldić won a unanimous decision over Khaos Williams in a welterweight fight at UFC 332. The bout went the full 15 minutes on Saturday at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, and it gave the former KSW champion a win in his first UFC appearance.
The official cards read 29-28, 29-27, and 29-27. Two of the judges scored the second round 10-8. Soldić entered at 21-4 with one no contest. Williams, listed as Kalinn Williams on the stats card, came in at 16-5.
The opening round was the only one that looked competitive. Williams caught Soldić with a right hook that sat him down, then landed a clean one-two. Soldić answered with a left hook to the body and spent the back half of the round wrestling. After that, the fight moved in one direction.
Soldić landed 138 of 213 total strikes and 94 of 162 significant strikes. Williams connected on 27 of 106. Soldić also took him down on all three attempts. Neither man scored a knockdown on the official card, and neither attempted a submission. The volume gap did the scoring.
Soldić told the broadcast that Williams absorbed a lot of shots and called him an amazing fighter. He described the win as a good welcome to the UFC and did not name a next opponent.
Soldić moved to 22-4-0 with one no contest. Williams fell to 16-6.
The debut was a long time coming. Soldić held KSW gold at welterweight and middleweight, and he owns a knockout win over Dricus du Plessis from that run. A stop in ONE Championship followed. His last MMA fight before Saturday was a February 2025 knockout of Dagi Arslanaliev, a layoff of nearly 600 days. He had also boxed in the interim.
Williams had just snapped a two-fight skid. He knocked out Nikolay Veretennikov in the first round in May, which is why the matchup was not treated as a showcase. The early right hand proved he still had the speed. He did not have an answer once Soldić closed the distance and kept the pressure on for the final 10 minutes.
A decision is not the finish Soldić built his name on. Eighteen of his 21 wins before Saturday had come by knockout. Going the distance in a UFC debut, after a knockdown against him, still counted. The cards were not close after the first round.
Williams leaves Salt Lake City with the early moment and a clear loss on the scorecards. A rebound fight is the next step. The power is still there. The output was not.
Soldić leaves with the debut win and no callout. The matchmakers have the sophomore booking. He has already shown he can win a UFC fight that does not end early.
