MMA news: Marvin Vettori to mark his return with another win over Roman Dolidze
Marvin Vettori is set to make his long-awaited return to the Octagon at UFC Fight Night 254, where he faces a familiar foe in Roman Dolidze.
Here, Sports News Blitz MMA writer Niall Togher breaks down how Vettori can replicate his 2023 victory and prove he’s still a top contender in the middleweight division.
A tactical battle in the rematch
The UFC Fight Night 254 card is headlined by a rematch between two middleweight contenders when Vettori takes on Dolidze.
The pair initially met back in 2023, with Vettori outpointing Dolidze with his superior striking to claim a unanimous decision win in London.
Dolidze took the first round due to a barrage of powerful right hands he landed near the end of the round.
However, the Italian was able to rally and pick apart Dolidze from the outside with more variety in his striking to help him win rounds 2 and 3 on the judges' scorecards.
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The fight on Saturday will be Vettori’s first since June 2023.
Then, he was on the end of a one-sided beatdown by Jared Cannonier over 5 rounds in which the Italian absorbed an alarming 257 strikes.
Vettori has been known to have one of the best chins currently in the UFC, so this time off may have allowed him to rest before returning to this new look middleweight division compared to the last time he fought.
The 31-year-old is one of those fighters that, whilst not being a specialist or the best in the division at any one aspect in MMA, is competent wherever the fight takes place.
Pair this with his granite chin and good cardio, and Vettori is a tough test for anyone at 185 pounds.
This matchup against Dolidze is one of the rare few for Vettori in which he is the better technical striker coming in.
The Italian continues to grow and improve on the feet, even catching Cannonier with a crisp, straight left hand in their fight, which had the American rocked before he began to take over.
To win the rematch, Vettori can attempt to duplicate the success he had in the first fight by chipping away at Dolidze with his calf and body kicks before finding a home for his left hand.
As this is a five-round fight, Vettori could mix in takedowns this time around later, particularly when Dolidze is tired.
The former middleweight title challengers' inactivity over recent years has been a cause for concern, with Vettori only having three fights since 2022.
Luckily for the 31-year-old, time is on his side, and hopefully, he has been using the long gaps in between fights to stay in the gym and continue to develop.
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Can Dolidze get revenge?
Dolidze is the most in form fighter of the two going into their rematch.
Dolidze has been far more active than Vettori, fighting three times since their first meeting and going 2-1 in those matchups.
He lost to Nassourdine Imavov before jumping up to light-heavyweight and defeating Anthony Smith.
He then returned to middleweight in his most recent fight, where he beat Kevin Holland.
On paper, these seem to be two solid wins, but in reality, they failed to show us where Dolidze truly is at this point in his career, particularly after the loss to Imavov.
His win against Kevin Holland was a TKO at the end of round one due to Holland suffering a rib injury during a scramble on the ground.
During his fight against Anthony Smith, he faced little resistance over three rounds due to Smith’s poor performance.
Despite his opposition, Dolidze’s striking arsenal in the Smith did look a lot more diverse as opposed to his fight with Vettori.
His fight with Vettori seemed to be the right hand or nothing for the Georgian.
At 36, Dolidze cannot afford to lose if he wants to make a run at the title before he retires.
Vettori is currently not the top 5 ranked opponent he once was due to his hiatus.
Therefore, a second loss to him will likely see Dolidze have to defend his number 12 ranking against a young up-and-coming prospect if he proves he cannot break back into the top ten of the division.
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Prediction
Suppose the threat of the takedown is not introduced in this rematch. In that case, it is hard to see the fight playing out differently from their first, and it being a tightly contested kickboxing match in which neither man really stamps their authority on the bout.
Neither man is a particularly dynamic striker, but Dolidze carries the power advantage into this matchup.
However, Vettori cancels that out with his granite chin and increased work rate on the feet compared to Dolidze.
Both fighters are at their best when the threat of the takedown is present, as they are both a solid ‘jack of all trades’ type fighter.
They struggle against the truly elite fighters in their division.
Although getting this fight to the ground would particularly serve the Georgian well, with him having the superior jiu-jitsu with his creative submissions and sweeps.
With the pair being so well matched, this fight will be close again.
It would be surprising if we didn’t go to the scorecards due to both men not being known for their finishing abilities as of late.
Vettori hasn’t finished a fight since 2020, and for Dolidze, his last finish came in 2022.
With that being said, expect a rejuvenated Vettori to outpoint and outwork Dolidze on the feet again and even secure a few takedowns late on to claim a decision victory.
Fighter prediction: Marvin Vettori
Method: Decision
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