Rade Opacic

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 building his reputation in the kickboxing world, Opacic finally joined ONE Championship and made his promotional debut at ONE: BIG BANG II in 2020. The card’s name turned out to be a premonition of things to come, as the Serbian striking ace knocked out Errol Zimmerman with a spectacular spinning heel kick. 

Opacic followed that up with three more highlight-reel knockouts, including one over respected heavyweight contender Francesko Xhaja in January 2022. 

Though he tasted defeat for the first time inside the Circle against Guto Inocente in June 2022, the Serbian heavyweight has a chance to earn a slice of redemption when he rematches the Brazilian behemoth at ONE Fight Night 11 on Prime Video.