UFC Vegas 104 Preview
The UFC is heading back to the Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, March 15th for UFC Vegas 104. The main event will be in the middleweight division between former title challenger #8 Marvin Vettori and #12 Roman Dolidze. The two will be facing each other in a rematch to their first fight at UFC 286 in 2023 where Vettori won by unanimous decision.
Vettori has not fought since 2023 and will be trying to rebound from a unanimous decision loss in his last fight against Jared Cannonier. The 31-year-old is 2-2 since unsuccessfully challenging for the middleweight title in 2021.
The Italian fighter feels like his best days are ahead of him. “I don't even think I hit my prime yet,” Vettori told UFC.com. “But I can feel I'm about to. It’s good. I've done a lot of mistakes because coming up young not knowing the game, not knowing media, not knowing a lot of s**t, everything that was thrown on me, I was just taking it, and with that comes a lot of mistakes.
“But f***, I did some good stuff too. It's good… I believe I still have a lot to accomplish,” Vettori said.
Vettori explained why he has not fought since 2023. “I already thought that after my last fight, I had to take some time and figure out a few things, especially a different gym and stuff,” Vettori said. “I accepted that. It's just part of the game and you really have to accept that because I think that's how you grow from it. Something very big had to happen. Otherwise, I would have always had to find a way to keep up, to keep pushing, so I sat back, and I just looked at the game from the outside for a moment.
“It was good. I think I improved a lot, and I evolved a lot, too.”
He concluded, “I put my heart into it,” Vettori said. “That’s one thing about me. I'll go out and just do everything that I can, that's for sure. I'll leave it all out there. I'm sure it's going to be a good performance.”
Aside from Dolidze Vettori has key wins over Jack Hermansson, Kevin Holland, and Paulo Costa. He is still just 31 years old and with a convincing win over Dolidze he could remind a rejuvenated middleweight division that he is still a title contender.
Dolidze has won two straight fights having most recently defeated Kevin Holland by TKO at UFC 307 in June. He is 8-3 in the UFC and aside from Holland he has key wins over Anthony Smith and Jack Hermansson.
Does Dolidze feel like he has made adjustments since the first fight with Vettori. “Marvin is a very durable fighter, he’s tough,” Dolidze said.
“I hope he will be in the best shape for our fight, but I think now I’m more prepared because I know exactly what he will do and how he moves and how he reacts but the main thing that I can point on is he’s a very durable guy, it’s hard to finish him,” he continued.
While Dolidze knows how tough fighting Vetorri will be a second time around, he wants to be the first to accomplish what no other middleweight has been able to. “Deep inside, I still want to be the first to stop him, I will do everything for that.”
Does the 36-year-old believe he lost the first fight? “I didn't expect that UFC would offer me exactly this fight, but I'm glad, because a lot of people had questions after our last fight,” said Dolidze.
“And I also think I didn't lose my previous fight with Marvin. I won that fight, and I think this fight will now give answers to all the questions that everybody had.”
What does Dolidze expect in the future with a win on Saturday? “A little bit more money – that's important, of course – and the opportunity to get more attention. That's exactly what I mostly ask UFC for.
“If you are giving me opponents, if they have a good name, I'm OK to fight anybody.
“Of course, the preparation is a little bit different, but it's more (about) understanding how we don’t need to rush and don't waste too much energy in the beginning, and to be ready for all five rounds. I’ve put in very good work (to prepare) for this, and I feel very confident in this.”
The Georgian concluded by saying, “My gameplan is just to be who I am, and that's all what I need to win this fight.”
The time is now for Dolidze to prove he belongs in the middleweight title conversation. A win over Vettori is a great start, but a loss could send him out of the top 15 rankings.
The rest of the main card:
Welterweight - Chidi Njokuani vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
Lightweight - Alexander Hernandez vs. Kurt Holobaugh
Bantamweight - Da’Mon Blackshear vs. Cody Gibson
Light Heavyweight - Diyar Nurgozhay vs. Brendson Ribeiro
Featherweight - Seung Woo Choi vs. Kevin Vallejos
ESPN+ Prelims:
Heavyweight - Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Ryan Spann
Bantamweight - SuYoung You vs. A.J. Cunningham
Bantamweight - Carlos Vera vs. Josias Musasa
Strawweight - Stephanie Luciano vs. Sam Hughes
Flyweight - Daniel Barez vs. Andre Lima
Women’s Bantamweight - Josiane Nunes vs. Priscila Cachoeira
Women’s Flyweight - Yuneisy Duben vs. Carli Judice
