About
The son of Serbian refugees from Croatia, Rade Opacic was born and raised in Belgrade’s Zemun district.
Opacic’s passion for combat sports started when he was 10 years old after being exposed to taekwondo. By the time he turned 14, he transitioned to kickboxing and quickly fell in love with it.
He competed as an amateur until the age of 18 back in his home country of Serbia and trained at KBKS Gym. Through hard work and perseverance, the young heavyweight improved at a high rate and even won the 2015 WAKO European Junior Championship.
Opacic turned pro in 2016 and obtained some much-needed experience by joining the 2016 K-1 World Grand Prix -95 kg Championship Tournament. He then took his act overseas, competing at Kunlun Fight in China and an Enfusion tournament in Abu Dhabi.
After years of fighting outside the Circle, Opacic finally joined ONE Championship and made his promotional debut at ONE: BIG BANG 2 in 2020. The card’s name turned out to be a premonition of things to come, as Opacic knocked out Errol Zimmerman with a spectacular spinning heel kick.
Opacic became a crowd favorite right away for his aggressive style and eagerness to exchange in the pocket. Win or lose, he always makes sure fans inside the arena get their money’s worth.
The Serbian heavyweight is tied for most knockouts in ONE Championship’s all-striking league, ONE Super Series, with four. He even earned a performance bonus at ONE: ONLY THE BRAVE in January 2022 for his victory over Francesko Xhaja.
Opacic also has notable KO victories over tough opponents like Bruno Susano and Patrick Schmidt. Though he tasted defeat for the first time inside the Circle against Guto Inocente, the Serbian possesses all the tools and the right attitude necessary to become a World Champion someday.
Next, Opacic returns at ONE on Prime Video 2 this September 30 to face Giannis Stoforidis in a ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix alternate bout.