Rivalries: Roman Dolidze

Roman Dolidze probably needs to get into his hurry-up offense if he wants to make any real headway in the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division.

The Xtreme Couture-trained Georgian will toe the line against Kevin Holland in a featured UFC 307 attraction this Saturday at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. Dolidze, 36, enters the cage with wins in five of his past seven outings. He last appeared at UFC 303, where he took a unanimous decision from Anthony Smith in their three-round encounter on June 29 and improved to 7-3 inside the Octagon.

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As Dolidze approaches his confrontation with Holland at 185 pounds, a look at a few of the rivalries that have helped shape his career to this point:

Eder de Souza

Dolidze rose to power on the regional scene and captured the vacant World Warriors Fighting Championship light heavyweight title when he punched out the Brazilian in the second round of their WWFC 11 co-main event on June 16, 2018 at the Kyiv Palace of Sports in Kyiv, Ukraine. De Souza met his end 3:36 into Round 2. After a tepid first round marked by uneventful clinches and standup exchanges, Dolidze stepped on the accelerator. He beckoned de Souza to engage, pressed forward behind occasional leg kicks and smiled sadistically whenever the Brazilian returned fire. Late in the middle stanza, Dolidze followed a jab with a devastating overhand right. De Souza froze where he stood and collapsed to the canvas in an unconscious heap. No follow-up shots were required.

Trevin Giles

The toolsy Texan picked up his pace in the 185-pound weight class with a three-round unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten Dolidze in their UFC on ESPN 21 middleweight prelim on March 20, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three cageside judges scored it the same: 29-28 for Giles. Dolidze fought well in spurts, piled up with points with early leg kicks and mixed in a well-timed takedown during the first five minutes. However, he wandered off the beaten path in the second round, where repeated bids for low-percentage leg locks resulted in his taking damage from ground-and-pound and pushing his cardio to the limit. Giles staggered him with a surgical straight right in Round 3, the impact drawing a significant amount of blood from the Georgian’s nose. Dolidze had his chances down the stretch and benefitted from some questionable choices by his opponent, but by then, he was running on fumes and lacked the gas necessary to carry him across the finish line.

Jack Hermansson

Dolidze put the away former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder Jack Hermansson with punches from a modified back mount in the second round of their UFC on ESPN 42 middleweight showcase on Dec. 3, 2022 at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. The stoppage was called 4:06 into Round 2. Hermansson was on cruise control for much of the first round, where he leaned heavily on his kicks and elusive movement. However, he completed a takedown in the middle stanza and immediately wandered into quicksand. Dolidze fished for an armbar and made a pass for a reverse triangle choke from the bottom before his spirit of innovation rose to the forefront. He trapped Hermansson in a calf slicer, then rolled him into a facedown position. There was no escape. Dolidze uncorked repeated punches to the side of the subdued Frontline Academy star’s head, resulting in one of the more creative finishes in UFC history.

Nassourdine Imavov

The Frenchman made his pitch as a Top 10 contender in the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight division, as he outstruck and outlasted Dolidze to a majority decision in the UFC Fight Night 235 headliner on Feb. 3, 2024 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Judges Derek Cleary and Sal D’Amato saw it 49-44 and 48-46 for Imavov, while Ron McCarthy scored it a 47-47 draw. Imavov was docked a point for an illegal head kick in the fourth round but otherwise controlled the majority of the match with sharp striking. He wobbled Dolidze with a right hand inside the first five minutes, forced him to the canvas with a series of follow-up shots, including a brutal knee strike to the body, and nearly authored a quick finish with ground-and-pound. Perhaps undercut by fatigue, Imavov was hesitant from that point forward yet still managed to extend his lead against a woefully inactive opponent. Dolidze resorted to a series of clinches along the fence but offered little in terms of meaningful offense, resulting in several referee restarts. The Georgian threatened with a kneebar in the fourth round and a toe hold in the fifth, though neither of the attempts had Imavov in any real danger.