Roman Dolidze evened the score with Marvin Vettori on Saturday, and the scorecards weren’t nearly as close this time around.
The Georgian won his middleweight rematch against the Italian by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) in the main event at UFC Vegas 104 inside the UFC APEX, securing his third straight win.
The fight began with a close first two rounds before Vettori (19-8-1) stepped on the gas in the third, however Dolidze (15-3) responded with a dominant performance in the championship rounds, including a flush knee that gave Vettori a significant cut near his eye in the fourth round. The final striking stats gave Dolidze only a moderate advantage in significant strikes (141 to 111) in a main event fought entirely upright, though that tally didn’t quite reflect the punishing nature of Dolidze’s blows.
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Dolidze’s biggest trouble almost came with referee Herb Dean, as Dean warned him about eye pokes before the second round. A minute later, Dolidze caught Vettori with an eye poke and got another talking to from Dean, however no point was lost.
The victor had a pair of ambitious callouts after the fight, as Dolidze demanded one of either Robert Whittaker or Israel Adesanya next, both former UFC middleweight champions.
Despite edging Dolidze in a close unanimous decision in their first meet-up at UFC 286 in March 2023, Vettori entered Saturday with plenty to prove. Vettori had fought only once since that bout, setting an unfortunate middleweight record for the most significant strikes absorbed in a fight with 249 in a decision loss to Jared Cannonier. The Italian had been sidelined with shoulder injuries since that Cannonier loss, and it’s now been nearly five years since he won a fight without needing the scorecards.
Dolidze, meanwhile, lost to Nassourdine Imavov after his first meeting with Vettori, then bounced back with wins over Anthony Smith and Kevin Holland.
In the night’s co-main event, Chidi Njokuani notched his third straight win since moving back to welterweight — and second straight after missing weight. Njokuani tipped the scales at 172.25 pounds for Saturday’s 170-pound contest after previously weighing 172.5 pounds for his October battle against Jared Gooden.
This time around, Njokuani put away Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos in the second round, sending him to the floor with a knee then ending the fight with an array of strikes on the ground.
Catch full UFC Vegas 104 results and highlights of every finish from Saturday’s card below.
Main Card
Middleweight: Roman Dolidze def. Marvin Vettori via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
172.25-pound catchweight: Chidi Njokuani def. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos via TKO (strikes) at 2:19 of Round 2| Watch finish
Lightweight: Alexander Hernandez def. Kurt Holobaugh via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Bantamweight: Da’Mon Blackshear def. Cody Gibson via submission (kimura) at 4:09 of Round 2 | Watch finish
210.5-pound catchweight: Brendson Ribeiro def. Diyar Nurgozhay via submission (kimura) at 1:28 of Round 1 | Watch finish
Featherweight: Kevin Vallejos def. Choi Seung-woo via TKO (punches) at 3:09 of Round 1 | Watch finish
Preliminary Card
Heavyweight: Waldo Cortes-Acosta def. Ryan Spann via KO (punches) at 4:48 of Round 2 | Watch finish
Bantamweight: You Su-young def. AJ Cunningham via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)
Bantamweight: Carlos Vera def. Josias Musasa via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:16 of Round 1 | Watch finish
Women’s strawweight: Sam Hughes def. Stephanie Luciano via split decision (29–28, 28–29, 29–27)
Flyweight: André Lima def. Daniel Barez via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:05 of Round 3 | Watch finish
Women’s bantamweight: Priscila Cachoeira def. Josiane Nunes via KO (punch) at 2:46 of Round 1 | Watch finish
Women’s flyweight: Carli Judice def. Yuneisy Duben via TKO (head kick and punches at 1:40 of Round 1 | Watch finish
