Former UFC middleweight title challenger Marvin Vettori wants to waste no time running it back with Roman Dolidze.
Marvin Vettori and Roman Dolidze put on a ‘Fight of the Year’ candidate at UFC Vegas 104 on Saturday at the Apex. It was an exciting bout from start to finish between two of the top middleweights in the world.
After five rounds, Dolidze squeaked out a unanimous decision win over Vettori to get his revenge after their first clash at UFC 286. Vettori won the previous clash by unanimous decision in the three-rounder.
Vettori expressed a somber tone in his first public remarks after UFC Vegas 104, sharing disappointment and heartbreak in a recent Instagram post. But hours later, Vettori struck a different tone as he looked ahead to what could potentially be his next UFC booking.
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Marvin Vettori vs. Roman Dolidze 3?
In a recent post to X, Vettori called to run it back with Dolidze while striking a humorous tone with his social media following.
“I guess [we’ll] need a trilogy,” Vettori posted Sunday. “The most nonsense trilogy I agree with you b—— lol. But at this point it has to happen.”
Vettori returned to the Octagon at UFC Vegas 104 for the first time since a unanimous decision loss to Jared Cannonier in June 2023. He’s lost three of his last four fights overall, with his victory over Dolidze being the lone victory during the current stretch.
Meanwhile, Dolidze continued his rise up the middleweight ranks after defeating Kevin Holland by first-round stoppage at UFC 307. He’s won three consecutive fights after suffering back-to-back defeats to Vettori and Nassourdine Imavov.
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Roman Dolidze called out Marvin Vettori’s former rivals after UFC Vegas 104
After outpointing Vettori at UFC Vegas 104, Dolidze called out Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker as a part of his two-man hit list. While Adesanya hasn’t responded as of this writing, Whittaker replied to Dolidze with a dismissive approach.
Adesanya has lost three-straight fights, including a recent TKO loss to Imavov in February. While he’s repeatedly teased a potential retirement, he seems on track to return to the Octagon later this year to attempt to get back into the win column.
Whittaker hasn’t fought since a first-round submission loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308 in October. The former titleholder earned wins over the likes of Vettori and Ikram Aliskerov before the Chimaev fight.
Dolidze and Vettori could potentially meet for a third time down the line, although the UFC matchmakers rarely book immediate trilogies. In the meantime, Vettori and Dolidze are still vying for title contention and a chance to disrupt the middleweight elite.