I am not usually one for rumors or one to go against my Italian brothers. But a little birdie with a weird accent told me that Marvin Vetori has a shoulder injury that isn't fully recovered and is essentially fighting for the money because unfortunately for a lot of fighters, there isn't an alternative source of revenue. This fight is a rematch where Marvin essentially won a busy striking match in 2023. Conventional wisdom would say this is likely more of the same, but given Marvin's inactivity, the shoulder injury rumor and Roman's progression since their first fight, I am going Roman here. Roman has picked up the striking activity as well as the grappling activity in the last few years and I think he can get it done here. Roman is the pick but the tried and true Roman Dolidze bet is WITD Dec. no action.
Marvin Vettori
Marvin Vetori is a grappler at his core but has developed striking over time. He has a good set of diverse takedowns from body locks to nice hit and run doubles. His striking continues to improve and he's gotten very comfortable on his feet. Even when he isn't comfortable, he's fine, because his hea dis made of legos. He has a positive striking differential, averages almost 2 takedowns per fight andhas a 69% takedown defense. He is coming back after 2 years away and a loss to Jared Cannonier where even though he landed half the strikes, his half was a very impressive 153.
Roman Dolidze
Roman Dolidze is a world champion grappler who has showcased those skills more than one time in the Octagon. The problem is though, you don't know when he will actually use his grappling. He has no problems marching forward, throwing heavy punches and getting stuck in a striking match. He has very real power which he does tend to chase with. Dolidze is a very well rounded fighter who can knock you out or submit you, but he doesn't always have the best gameplans and can fade later in fights. He is coming off the finish win over Kevin Holland where when he took Kevin down, he broke his rib and won by TKO.
