Roberto “Robocop” Soldic might have been the favorite with a seven-straight first-round finish streak, but Khaos Williams just showed everyone exactly why he’s known for his insane durability at UFC 332 in Salt Lake City on Saturday. Soldic, making his highly anticipated UFC debut after a dominant run in KSW where he won titles at both 170 and 185 pounds, faced a true test in Williams, who was fresh off snapping his own two-fight skid with a first-round knockout in May.
Round 1: Khaos Comes Out Swinging
Right from the jump, Mike Beltran had his hands full! Williams, coming in with a 7-4 UFC record, was not messing around, staying outside and just attacking Soldic’s lead leg. “Robocop” was definitely biding his time, looking to unleash that heavy left hand. He landed a jab, but Williams answered back with a counter a split second later and BAM! Soldic was down. He recovered fast, no doubt, but Williams definitely took the early lead on the scorecards. Williams kept up the pressure, landing another good left and just being the aggressor with straight punches. Soldic tried to test that chin with a hard right, but Williams dropped him *again*. Soldic had to find a way to switch things up, and he did it with a takedown that got some boos from the crowd. He pretty much rode out the last minute on the mat, and MMA Fighting scored it 10-9 for Williams. What an opener!
Rounds 2 & 3: “Robocop” Turns Up The Heat, But That Chin Holds Strong
Soldic came out for Round 2 with a different energy, landing a nice counter right to start. He then tagged Williams with a sick 1-2 combo, and you could tell Williams needed to wake up because his punches were looking off-balance. Soldic poured it on, another sharp two-punch combo, then a head kick! Williams’ chin is absolutely legendary, because he ate it. Soldic was fully in control, connecting with *another* head kick. He went body-head, landing literally everything this round. A body shot clearly hurt Williams, and Soldic followed up with a head shot. No knockdown this time, but he was absolutely battering Williams, and another combo had Khaos on wobbly legs. They grappled to the mat, Soldic on top landing punches, with Williams just trying to tie him up in defense mode. There was plenty of time for Soldic to land more from that top position. Even though Williams had those knockdowns in Round 1, MMA Fighting argued Soldic did even more damage in Round 2, scoring it 10-8 for “Robocop.” That put Soldic up 19-18 overall heading into the final round. Round 3 started with Soldic landing a hard left right out of the gate. Williams was catching air with his counters now; things were not looking good. Two more straight punches from Soldic, who was just stalking Williams, who had slowed way down since that strong opening round. Soldic was marching forward, landing punches and stringing shots together beautifully. Honestly, if it wasn’t for Williams’ iron chin, this would have been over. Soldic then hit an inside trip and was on top in Williams’ guard with two minutes left. Williams has to find a way out of this or Soldic will cruise to a decision win. Williams gives up his
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Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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