Jaws don’t drop at the sight of Roman Dolidze. He won’t frighten anyone or overwhelm them with his power. He won’t dazzle anyone with his speed and athleticism. He’s not liable to break a bone with his submission game.
Marvin Vettori ate every punch he threw Saturday at Apex in the main event of UFC Vegas 104 with hardly a wobble in the rematch of a 2023 bout that Vettori won.
He failed in his only takedown attempt, and it was a half-hearted one at that. He dove for Vettori’s leg after getting rocked with a left in the second round.
But for all his seeming shortcomings, Dolidze earned himself a spot in the middleweight Top 10 by winning four of the five rounds Saturday and defeating Vettori by unanimous decision 49-46 on all cards to even their series at a win apiece.
Dolidze’s greatest talent is winning.
At the advanced age of 36, a stage when the majority are thinking of when to lay down the gloves, he improved to 15-3 and pushed himself into the fringes of contention.
Nothing he does will blow one away. No one has canceled a hot date on a Saturday night to stay home and watch him fight.
This is a guy where you add one plus one plus one and get six. The whole is better than the sum of its parts. In any one area, he’s not fearsome, but collectively, he’s proven to be a winner.
In 2024, a pair of his countrymen from Georgia won UFC titles. Ilia Topuria knocked out Alexander Volkanovski to win the featherweight title at UFC 298 and Merab Dvalishvili outlasted Sean O’Malley to claim the bantamweight at UFC 306.
Georgia has become an MMA hotbed. Topuria and Dvalishvili were welcomed home like national heroes, greeted by raucous crowds in overflowing soccer stadiums.
Dolidze dreams of joining that duo, of soaking in the cheers of his countrymen, and he took a big step toward giving himself a chance on Saturday.
Dolidze isn’t there yet, but a win over a former title challenger just brought him closer than ever.
He is ranked 12th, but beating No. 8 Vettori should push him into the Top 10, and into bigger conversations. Dolidze isn’t just defying expectations, he’s setting his sights on the division’s elite.
“You know, I deserve a top five opponent next,” Dolidze said in the cage after winning 49-46 on all cards. “There are two realistic fights for me: It’s [either Robert] Whittaker or [Israel] Adesanya. Let’s go.”
Chris Unger/Zuffa
Roman Dolidze (L) and Marvin Vettori battle Saturday at Apex. Dolidze won by scores of 49-46 on all cards.
Calling out a pair of ex-champions is reaching for the stars for a guy of modest success for most of his UFC career. His biggest win before Saturday was at UFC 307 when he defeated Kevin Holland, but Holland was injured during the first round and his corner stopped the bout.
He beat a fading Anthony Smith at UFC 303 and stopped Jack Hermansson at a Fight Night card in Orlando, Fla., on Dec. 3, 2022.
He’s fighting for a promotion with more than 600 fighters under contract, and it’s easy to get overlooked without a signature skill or win given its constant influx of explosive athletes with fearsome finishes dotting their resumes.
He’s now won three in a row since his back-to-back defeats to Vettori and Nassourdine Imavov. He said he was out of shape for the Imavov bout and dismissed it with a wave of his hand.
“There was a lot going on before that fight,” he said, going no further.
With seven wins in his last nine, he’s no longer just a guy with a dream. He’s earned his place among the sport’s best.
“This was a big and important test for me,” Dolidze said. “Five rounds is hard, because I’m at a high level in here with killers and monsters. I had to be ready for anything to happen. And this fight was important mentally to me because I showed I can go five rounds hard.”
A win in the UFC, particularly in a main event, is worthy of a celebration, but Dolidze can’t afford to party too hard. Whittaker and Adesanya are proud former champions but each is coming off a brutal loss in his last fight.
Whittaker was choked out by Khamzat Chimaev and Imavov knocked out Adesanya. They know as well as anyone they can’t afford another defeat.
If Dolidze gets one of them next, he’ll face a desperate opponent.
The journey for the gentle Georgian is only going to get harder. All it takes, though, is one punch and a chance.
With an impressive victory over Vettori, Dolidze didn’t just climb the rankings, he made his case for something far greater.