Roman Dolidze was able to avenge a prior loss to Marvin Vettori tonight at UFC Fight Night 254 with a unanimous decision victory in their five-round main event rematch.
Round One
The middleweight main event rematch is underway in Las Vegas!
Axe kick attempt from Dolidze to start but doesn’t commit to it. Low kick for Dolidze. Now an outside leg kick from Vettori.
Nice punch from Dolidze stops Vettori for a moment. Vettori with a few leg kicks. There’s a clash of heads that forces a brief time-out, but they both seem relatively ok afterwards.
Back to it they go. Inside leg kick for Dolidze. Power punch from him comes up short. Vettori ducks under a right hook. Vettori lands a leg kick.
Inside leg kick for Dolidze. He lands a punch. Push kick to the body from Vettori. left hand for Vettori. Right hand from Vettori as Dolidze closed the range.
Grazing right hand from Dolidze. Low kick for Vettori. Jab for Vettori. Straight left for him. Inside leg kick from Vettori is checked. Spinning elbow from Dolidze comes up a little short.
Body punch from Vettori. Exchange of hooks at close quarters but neither lands clean. Counter-right hook from Vettori as Dolidze comes forward again.
Head kick attempt from Dolidze is blocked. Inside leg kick from Vettori at the end of the round.
Round Two
Dolidze warned by the ref Herb Dean about his extended fingers in the previous round before they start the next.
Low kick for Dolidze. He lands another. Vettori with a low kick too now. Dolidze goes to the inside with his leg kick this time. Eye-poke from Dolidze forces a time-out. The ref opts not to deduct a point despite the prior warning and they soon get back to it.
They exchange punches and Dolidze lands a hard punch. Backfist from Dolidze now. calf kick lands well for Vettori.
Jab from Dolidze. Right hand now. Inside leg kick from Vettori. Front kick to the body from Dolidze. He lands another. Now a low kick. Jab for Dolidze. Low kick from Vettori.
Inside leg kick from Dolidze. Grazing right hook from Vettori. Calf kick for Dolidze as Vettori misses on a punch.
Jab for Dolidze. He lands it again. Low kick from Vettori. He lands another. Left hand gets through for Vettori and then follows up with the right connecting too.
Left hand for Vettori as he starts to find a little more success late in the second round. Low kick for Dolidze. Jab for him. Vettori gets a couple of short right hands in at the end of the round.
Round Three
Right hand for Dolidze. he goes for a flurry, but doesn’t connect. Body kick for Vettori. Push kick from Dolidze. Right hook for Vettori. Hooks from Dolidze come off the guard.
Low kick for Vettori. Punch lands for Dolidze. Vettori bursts forward and lands a straight punch that staggers Dolidze for a moment. Vettori continues to unleash punches as Dolidze looks a bit dazed. Dolidze manages to stablize himself though and Dolidze doesn’t go all-out for a finish.
Bit of a lull in the action now as they both take a breather. Nice counter-left hand from Vettori. Jab and a right hand for Vettori. Head kick attempt from Dolidze is blocked. he lands a heavy leg kick. He tries for the head kick again but it’s blocked by Vettori.
Inside leg kick from Vettori. Jab for Dolidze. Calf kick for Dolidze. he lands it again. Another calf kick from Dolidze and Vettori winces a bit at that.
left hand from Vettori while steering clear of a hard punch from Dolidze. Dolidze with a swing and miss and opts to clinch up afterwards against the cage.
Round Four
Low kick for Vettori. Right hook from Dolidze. Another calf kick from Vettori. Axe kick from Dolidze misses. At close range a knee to the head gets through for Dolidze and opens up a bit of a cut to Vettori’s right eyebrow.
Head kick attempt from Dolidze comes close. Dolidze presses forward with purpose. Front kick to the body from Dolidze. Leg kick for him. Vetorri lands a nice step-in left hand.
Inside leg kick for Vettori and a left hand behind it. Vettori tries to step in for a couple of power punches but misses.
Nice flurry from Dolidze. Dolidze with a spinning elbow that lands. Calf kicks from Vettori. Push kick from Dolidze. Push kick upstairs too. He works that kick upstairs again.
Vettori with a double-jab. Overhand right from Dolidze. Vettori with a few straight punches late in the round.
Round Five
Calf kick for Dolidze. He tries for a head kick. Right hand gets through for Dolidze. Kick to the body and then the leg from Dolidze.
Vettori trying to press forward with punches, But Dolidze still kicking. Short flurry in close from Vettori. Right hand gets through for Dolidze.
Glancing head and body punch from Vettori. Right hook for Dolidze. Jab from Vettori. Vettori avoids a few punches. Low kicks from Dolidze.
Head kick attempt for Dolidze. Inside leg kick from him and then a blocked head kick. He goes for a body kick that lands.
Right hand for Vettori. Overhand right fromm Dolidze. Now a front kick to the body. Good right and then left hand from Vettori. Low kick from Dolidze lands to the groin and forces a brief time-out.
Right hand from Dolidze. He again goes for a head kick that’s blocked. Another one at least partially got through. Now a front kick upstairs.
Body kick for Dolidze. Back to the head kick. Vettori complains about an eyepoke but the action continues. Dolidze missing with another head kick. He throws another two. Vettori trying to land but Dolidze backs off. Yet again Dolidze fires out a head kick attempt that comes up short but keeps Vettori at bay.
Decision
Like their first fight a couple of years ago this was closely contested, but this time Dolidze paced himself better and was able to stay more active late in the fight as Vettori started to slow down, perhaps feeling the effects of having been out for a year-and-half. So Dolidze gets his revenge as he emerges with a unanimous decision victory (49-46 x3).
