Roman Dolidze took issue with judges who scored their first fight in favor of Marvin Vettori. On Saturday, Dolidze and the judges aligned as he won a unanimous decision in the UFC Fight Night main event.
Dolidze and Vettori’s rematch played similarly to their March 2023 clash. Dolidze showed more aggression while Vettori prioritized leg kicks and counter strikes. Dolidze’s stamina failed him the first fight, an issue he corrected in the rematch. Dolidze outstruck Vettori in three of five rounds, finding success with combination punching and spinning elbows.
Vettori’s most significant moment came in Round 3. The Italian fighter rocked his Georgian counterpart with a big punch and gave chase. Dolidze stumbled to his feet before fending off Vettori with the threat of haymakers. While Dolidze’s face suffered more damage, the judges deemed him the more effective striker in all but one round.
“First fight I was going hard because of my aggression,” Dolidze told UFC commentator Michael Bisping post fight after earning 49-46 scorecards. “This time I was ready and controlled my aggression.
“I deserve a top five fight. 100 percent. There are two realistic fights for me: Robert Whittaker or Israel Adesanya.”
Dolidze (14-3) is back on a winning streak after losing consecutive fights for the first time. Dolidze has now beaten Vettori, Kevin Holland and Anthony Smith successively. Vettori (19-8-1) is on his first two-fight losing skid after dropping consecutive decisions to Dolidze and Jared Cannonier.
