UFC Fight Night: Marvin Vettori vs Roman Dolidze 2

We rarely see a rematch of this calibre, but it just so happens that the latest UFC Fight Night event will be headlined by a fight between Marvin Vettori and Roman Dolidze. The two already met in 2023, with the fight going Vettori’s way via a unanimous decision. Dolidze was having none of that, but it was a fight that he clearly lost. Now, he wants to avenge that loss and break into the top 10 of the Middleweight division. 

Vettori is on shaky ground at the moment. He is still ranked 8th in the division, but it remains to be seen for how long. He is 2-3 in his last five fights, which is a record that does not indicate an upward trajectory. Either way, we are in for a fun fight.

Marvin Vettori Record (19-7-1)

The pinnacle of Marvin Vettori’s career came in 2021 when he challenged Isreal Adesanya for the title. Even though he lost, he still took the champ to deep waters and managed not to get stopped in this bout. Unfortunately, since then, he has amassed a 2-2 record, and none of his fights were that impressive.

Win or lose, all of his seven fights ended with a decision, which is not something that the UFC is fond of. His last two wins came against Paulo Costa and Roman Dolidze, but he also lost to Robert Whittaker and Jaredn Cannonier. The Cannonnier fight was his last one and actually managed to launch Jared to stardom and allowed him to get the title shot.

Roman Dolidze (14-3)

The Caucasian has all the makings of a future UFC star. After a 6-1 start with the UFC, including three consecutive fights which he ended either by TKO or KO, Roman was stopped by Vettori. Marvin took an offsetting approach that slowed Dolidze down. Even though he landed more punches in that fight, the judges gave the victory to Vettori.

He would then lose his second fight in a row against Nassourdine Imavov. This one looked much closer and could honestly have gone either way. For that reason, Dolidze took a bit of a cautionary approach, which saw him edge out Anthony Smith via decision. But he got back to his best in his last bout, where he defeated Kevin Holland due to his corner demanding a stoppage to the fight.

Vettori vs Dolidze Prediction

This is a rematch fight and based on how these two have looked recently, it is not going to be the same fight as before. Vettori is coming off an injury, which is never an easy thing to do, especially for a fighter who has a heavy wrestling approach. However, while Vettori might make it easier on him by wrestling with Dolidze, he rarely does so and chooses to stand and bang.

This is what he will most likely do this time. Last time, he was able to stifle Dolidze with kicks and make it an awkward fight for both. However, I do think that Roman has grown since their last fight. He is in better form and has already risen from his previous losses.

While I don’t expect to see a memorable knockout, it is going to be a hard fight, which could end with another decision win but this time in favour of Dolidze.

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