Roman Dolidze avenged his previous defeat at the hands of Marvin Vettori, claiming a unanimous decision triumph over ‘The Italian Dream’ in the middleweight main event of a UFC Fight Night at the Apex Facility in Las Vegas on the morning of Sunday 16 March 2025.
Roman Dolidze avenges his 2023 loss against Marvin Vettori with a win at #UFCVegas104 💪 pic.twitter.com/bWuxRDKBHu
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 16, 2025
The two top-tier fighters had a similar battle to their first meeting back in 2023 (which Vettori won by unanimous decision), with Dolidze the more aggressive and pro-active of the two, while his opponent remained dangerous with leg strikes and counter punches.
While the first fight went the way of Vettori on the back of Dolidze flagging through three rounds, this five-round main event saw the Georgian display much greater cardio – and he was able to keep a high level of offence to deservedly triumph 49-46 on all three judges’ score cards.
“First fight [against Vettori] I was going hard because of my aggression," Dolidze told UFC commentator Michael Bisping post fight. "This time I was ready and controlled my aggression. I deserve a top five fight. 100 per cent. There are two realistic fights for me: Robert Whittaker or Israel Adesanya.”
One of the best answers I've ever heard about "We are going to war" in a fighting sport.
— Giorgi Kokiashvili 🇬🇪 (@iHeartGeorgius1) March 16, 2025
Roman Dolidze definitely knows what is a WAR. 🇬🇪🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/HrqSFYG8B4
In the rest of the main card, Chidi Njokuani stopped Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos in a catchweight (172.25 lb) fight; Alexander Hernandez outpointed Kurt Holobaugh in the lightweight division; Da’Mon Blackshear submitted Cody Gibson in a bantamweight battle; Brendson Ribeiro got the better of Diyar Nurgozhay in a catchweight (210.5 lb) match; and Kevin Vallejos stopped Choi Seung-woo in the first round of their featherweight opener.
"It's Whittaker or Adesanya!" - Roman Dolidze shoots his shot! 👀#UFCVegas104 | Live on TNT Sports & discovery+ pic.twitter.com/SwBNOHce4i
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) March 16, 2025
The UFC continues next weekend with a Fight Night at the O2 Arena in London on the evening of Saturday 22 March, headlined by a welterweight clash between Leon Edwards and Sean Brady.
Roman Dolidze believes a fight with Israel Adesanya will get him the most eyes in terms of his next fight.
— FULL SEND MMA (@full_send_mma) March 16, 2025
“It’s not about personality, it’s all about name and quality of opponent and Adesanya will be better if we’re looking at a future opponent” pic.twitter.com/WyakYLCtn0
UFC Fight Night: Vettori v Dolidze – Main card results
- Main event: Middleweight: Roman Dolidze def. Marvin Vettori via unanimous decision (49-46 49-46 49-46), R5, 5:00
- Catchweight (172.25 lb): Chidi Njokuani def. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos via TKO (knees and elbows), R2, 2:19
- Lightweight: Alexander Hernandez def. Kurt Holobaugh via unanimous decision (29-28 30-27 29-28), R3, 5:00
- Bantamweight: Da’Mon Blackshear def. Cody Gibson via submission (kimura), R2, 4:09
- Catchweight(210.5 lb): Brendson Ribeiro def. Diyar Nurgozhay via submission (kimura), R2, 1:28
- Featherweight: Kevin Vallejos def. Choi Seung-woo via TKO (punches), R1, 3:09