Roman Dolidze hopes that 2025 will be a year of avenged losses with his first chance this Saturday.
The coming Saturday, Roman Dolidze will take on Marvin Vettori in the UFC Vegas 104 Main Event, looking for revenge on 'The Italian Dream' for their first collision at UFC 286 in 2023.
Last time -out of UFC 307, Dolidze scored a bizarre victory over Kevin Holland, giving his place in the top 15 of the middleweight division. Vettori, on the other hand, has only fought once since their first fight and has been inactive since June 2023.
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Roman Dolidze wants another rematch after UFC Vegas 104
In anticipation of his rematch against 'The Italian Dream', Dolidze believes that he could enter the title conflict with a victory, which states that the middleweight division is in a 'new era'.
Dricus Du Plessis is currently ruling the middleweight division with his next defending defense that probably comes against Khamzat Chimaev. Dolidze told Bloody Elbow that he thinks that Chimaev can be 'in trouble' if he does not end the fight in the opening rounds.
Someone who may feel hard to miss the next title shot is Nassourdine Imavov. 'The Russian sniper' scored the biggest victory of his career to date last time -out when he eliminated Israel Adesanya.
Because he probably has to wait for the peak of Du Plessis vs Chimaev, Dolidze believes that a rematch against Imavov could open if he beat Vettori this weekend.
“He is a great hunter, very good, high level technology, very good high -level striker and there are other reasons why I was not in the form that I had to be to fight,” Dolidze told Bloody Elbow.
“I never try to find apologies, he has won that fight, 100%, but I want to be better in shape and I want to prove that I can do this, then I (Vettori) fight that I can be much better and can use all the skills I have.
“One of the biggest problems of mine is that I don't use my best sides, I sometimes don't use my wrestling … I think I sometimes have to use it,” he went on.
The state of the middleweight division
The top of the middleweight division apparently goes through a transitional period, with people like Israel Adesanya, Robert Whittaker and Sean Strickland who all come from losses and all occupying places in the top five.
Apart from those big names, such as Caio Borralho and the aforementioned, Imavov, wait in the wings to replace the old guard in the division.
And with that Dolidze hopes that with a victory over Vettori he can also bring himself to the title in 185.
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